Harry Potter: Lily’s Child
by kb0
Summary: What if Lily had survived and escaped with Harry in the attack on Halloween of 1981? How will Lily, who many believed to be the smartest witch of her generation, raise her son and how will he fulfill his destiny? H/G
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Harry Potter: Lily's Child  
**Rating:** R (just to be safe for some violence and mild profanity, but will mostly be PG-13)  
**Category:** A/U, Action/Adventure, Drama  
**Summary:** What if Lily had survived and escaped with Harry in the attack on Halloween of 1981? How will Lily, who many believed to be the smartest witch of her generation, raise her son and how will he fulfill his destiny? The story will mostly deal with Harry in his 6th and 7th year.  
**Important Paring:** HP/GW (for those that care) for  
**Version:** 1.0 - Original  
**Version:** 1.1 - Added Reg's Brit changes

((A/N: This story came about after an email discussion on writing with moshpit. In that discussion, I postulated that almost all of the good plot ideas/domains in the HP fan-fiction universe were already taken at this late date. In response, he gave me an idea and basically challenged me to consider it. I was intrigued enough to take it and run with it. Of course, with the amount of HP fan-fiction in existence, I'm sure there are stories with a similar premise; in fact, I think there is now one on SIYE, but I did not notice it until a couple of months after I started on the notes for this, and I have purposefully not read it. (Yes, I've been working on developing this story for a long time.)

In addition to the original idea, moshpit was kind enough to be an idea and plot consultant, as well as to encourage me to formally write universe notes, which of course forces you to think things through quite a bit more than I normally would have. Ignoring spells, plot ideas, and my outline, my notes on reverse engineering the HP-universe are nearly 90 pages of dense writing (few blank lines).

The resulting story should have a consistent environment and consistent characters. This also means the story will be A/U, potentially very A/U in places (although no aliens or alternate dimensions :-) as I try to "fix" a few things from canon. As I mentioned to moshpit, who agreed with me, woe unto authors who write complex stories for the younger crowd and then have them analyzed by adults. It gives the author plenty of chances to exclaim, "Hmm, I didn't think that through there, did I?" (Please don't think I don't appreciate JKR and all of her hard work, because I do appreciate her work and imagination. I just think she made some goofs with inconsistencies that her editors also missed.) Hopefully, my inconsistencies will be smaller and fewer. :-) Also, for the "canon police", this story will be based mostly on the facts from books 1-6, with the rare fact from book 7. Overall, stuff from book 7 will be ignored (for consistency reasons).

This story will also be different from my normal ones in that I have not written it all up front. Normally, I write the entire "alpha" version of the story, then upload it as it goes through the "beta" process, which makes it appear that I write very fast. As I tend to write stories that are 150K words or less, and are only of simple to medium complexity, that works just fine. This story will be longer and more complex; therefore, it is only outlined at this time and I'll be uploading it as I write it. That means slower updates than I normally do. Sorry, but that's reality. I'd like updates to come every three weeks, but I suspect they will be every three to six weeks. I now understand why some of those "big" stories I like so much update so slowly. :-)

What can you expect in this story? Like most of my stories, this will be a "more grown-up Harry" who has a clue about life. Unfortunately for him, that also means that Voldemort will also be a little smarter to match. There will be action and adventure, as that is what the HP series is about, but there will also be mystery and intrigue too. Because Harry is a teenager, he will also deal with teenage issues (e.g. thinking he already knows how life works, adults who tell him what to do, making friends, and girls), and have to figure out how to grow up in a world that is torn by war while being thrust into the center of it. Also, most chapters will be about this size, or at least that is my goal.

Last but definitely not least, a HUGE thanks to moshpit for the initial idea and consulting as a pre-beta, not to mention making me think more about what makes a story better and pushing me as an author. Also to my main beta JonathanAvery, who is teaching me more about writing. He also makes me look like a better writer than I really am. Reg will be making me sound more British than I am. Sovran is helping as a post-beta. I must also mention SquidTamer, who is acting as special consultant in a specific area, as well as helping me to learn about a very interesting culture (you'll know where when you finish this chapter). These guys are my wonderful beta team, and without them, you would not enjoy this story nearly as much. They all deserve a big thanks!

A few notes about writing in this story:  
- I will follow the Strunk & White's rule 1: so this means that James's, Sirius's, Albus's are all correct.  
- I'm going to leave the period off of many common title abbreviations: Mr, Mrs, Sr, Jr, ...  
- Those who know me know that I'm not into (melodramatic) angst. I will have some very mild angst in this story, although if I do my job right, you'll only notice it if you're looking for it.

For those who have been wondering about my "epic" sized story, this is it. The alternate title for the story was "Driven", but "Lily's Child" won by a whisker. I think of this chapter as the Prologue, or chapter zero; alas, most places force you to start with chapter "one". I hope everyone enjoys this story. -- kb.))

* * *

**Harry Potter: Lily's Child**

**Chapter 1: The End of War?**

"…_abbas__ amor_." James Potter said, completing the ritual. A faint white glow consumed the smear of his blood on his son's forehead. After a few seconds, the glow faded from view. "There," he told his wife, "now I've renewed the charm for me, too. Are you sure about this?"

"As sure as I can be without testing it." Lily Potter had performed the same ritual just before her husband. "We'll need to do this every thirty days for maximum protection. Then, if something should happen to either one of us…" She had trouble thinking about that, much less saying it.

"We can only hope the war ends soon and that never happens." James wrapped his wife in his arms and held her as they both looked down on little Harry, their fifteen-month-old son. "I don't think we can be much safer than where we are; after all, only the Marauders, Albus, and Hagrid know where we live. As long as we're careful, we'll be all right."

"But, what about our safe house?" she countered, turning to face her husband. "We could go there. No one knows about it, not even Sirius."

James chuckled. "But if we go there, then we won't have a safe house to run to in case of trouble. You said it yourself, Lily, we need layers of defence. Take heart, my love, we'll be safe and we have all of your brilliant plans in case of trouble. Now, let's try one of my plans," he said with a smirk. "Why don't you go take Harry to bed, and I'll go turn on the wireless and pour a couple of glasses of wine. We can relax and enjoy the evening. Maybe we can even see about giving Harry a little sister."

"James!" Lily exclaimed with some exasperation. She swatted him on the arm before she leaned down and picked up Harry, who was struggling to his feet on the table. "You're so, so, incorrigible."

Laughing, James headed towards the kitchen while Lily carried Harry upstairs to his bedroom. She climbed the stairs and tucked him into his crib. His room was smaller and much more crowded than the old nursery, as it had been difficult to decide what to leave behind.

Not that Lily would complain about her new home. Perhaps it was not quite as nice as the house they had sold a few months ago, but it had an endearing quaint charm that she loved. Still, the house in Godric's Hollow could be a shack for all Lily cared as long as it protected them from Lord Voldemort. Although only a few of their friends knew about this home, the charms that she and Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, had wrapped about it were the true protection.

A few weeks ago, she and James had placed the rented house under the Fidelius Charm. The charm hid a secret within a single person, and only the Secret Keeper could reveal their location. That secret was known to a small and select group, which included the other three Marauders, who were their closest friends from school, Albus Dumbledore, and Hagrid, a close confidant. They had almost not told Hagrid, but Albus had recommended the large Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts as his duties gave him an anonymous freedom so that he could bring them supplies and news of the war.

Unfortunately, it left them almost completely isolated, but their son's life was more important than anything else. So, they remained within the small house and spent most of their time raising Harry and doing research for the Order of the Phoenix, a group of witches and wizards sworn to the defeat of Lord Voldemort.

Closing the nursery door, she headed back towards the stairs, where she could hear soft music playing below. They could have had a nicer house, perhaps even casting the Fidelius Charm on their old house, but the sale of their previous home had given them more options. Where Harry was concerned, Lily and James were more than a bit paranoid. They loved each other greatly, but both she and her husband had decided that for the duration of the war, Harry came first, no matter how painful that might be.

While all of their friends assumed that the extra money from the house sale was put into the bank for them to live off of, she and James had secretly bought another small house in a country far away from merry old England. They had used Muggle means to buy it and had told no one about it, leaving it almost impossible to find, for most wizards and witches were very unfamiliar with Muggle record-keeping systems. Even those familiar with Muggle records should have no hope of finding it as it had been purchased under a different name. It was their final level of protection, and she hoped it would never have to be used.

She descended the stairs, and her husband greeted her with two glasses of wine as she entered the living room. She took one look at the wine and then rolled her eyes at her husband. "Why, pray tell, do we have orange wine?"

"To celebrate Halloween, Love" he told her with a twinkle in his eye, as if the joke should have been obvious. "A toast… To All Hallows Eve, may the forces of _Light_ prevail." They clinked their glasses before they both took a drink. James sighed, it was his favourite red wine, a decent Burgundy, despite its presently charmed colour.

Lily sank onto the couch, and her husband of almost two and a half years joined her. She watched him take her glass from her and set both glasses down on the low table in front of them. "Besides your tease, what are you up to, James Potter?"

"What? Me? Up to something, Lily? I'm hurt…" he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, "that you would imply ..." and then on her jaw, "that I would ever be ..." her head titled as he descended to her throat, "up to something."

Though she was enjoying every second of his ministrations, Lily rolled her eyes. She knew "her marauder" far too well. After all, it was how she had found herself pregnant a little over six months after they were married. As he continued to kiss her, she stiffened as an icy chill went up her spine. She turned to face the front door.

James pulled back and glanced at his wife. "What? Did you hear something?" he asked with a concerned voice.

"Check out front while I check the back. I'd swear I just felt an Anti-Disapparation ward go up." Lily had the rare gift of being able to sense active wards.

James didn't hesitate. When it came to their security, he and Lily stopped at nothing. He bounded across the room to the front window and moved the curtain slightly. Lily was almost to the kitchen when he exclaimed, "Oh, shit!"

Lily stopped and looked at James, afraid to ask the question that was on her mind. There was no need to ask, the fear in James's eyes answered her. Voldemort had come for them.

"Wormtail's betrayed us!" James said as he spun and drew his wand. "Run, Lily! Get Harry and go! I'll hold 'em up to give you time."

Lily turned and bolted for the stairs and their sleeping son. She was at the stairs in four large steps when an explosion rocked the house. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the front door go flying by, blown inward off its hinges. Although shocked, she pushed onward, taking the stairs two at a time. She prayed that if she escaped fast enough that James would still be able to join her.

At the top of the stairs, she flicked her wand and charmed the stairs to turn into an almost frictionless slide when anyone was half-way up them.

"No, I don't care what you offer!" James shouted from the living room. "I will not leave my family to your so-called mercies!" Praying for his safety, she ran toward the nursery.

She cast a quick summoning spell as she entered the nursery. An emergency survival trunk zipped through the air and into Harry's room. A quick shrinking charm made it easy to catch, and she threw it into Harry's nappy bag as she slung it over her shoulder. Scooping up a deeply asleep Harry wrapped in his baby blanket, she summoned a very special teddy bear off of his changing table.

Lily touched her wand to the teddy bear and said, "Activate." Nothing happened. She tried again and then swore.

Muffled sounds of the fight downstairs echoed in the room and the floor shook from the occasional spell. She wished she could hear what was happening, but having survived three encounters with the monster already, Lily knew both he and her husband would be using non-verbal spells, as that made it harder on your opponent. Another blast shook the house.

Shaking all that from her head, she concentrated on her task. As soon as she left, the wards around the house should make a sound, and that would be the signal to James that he could leave, too. Until then, she knew he would literally do anything to give her time to get away with Harry. However, she had to get free first. Voldemort must have cast an Anti-Portkey ward as well; she hoped she did not have to take the time to break it.

For her first escape attempt, Lily fired a blasting hex at the window, hoping she could fly away. The glass glowed brightly for a moment as the energy dissipated, but it did not break. "Oh, bloody hell! I'm going to have to do this the hard way."

Running through her memories, she started trying every spell she could think of to break the Anti-Portkey ward. The problem was which variant of the ward prevented her exit. Dozens existed, and they had not planned for Anti-Portkey wards in any of their scenarios. She mentally cursed her short-sightedness as she cast another spell.

After the fifth failure, she heard James scream and then silence. A high pitched cold laughter echoed through the house, and Lily could only assume the worst -- her husband was dead. Her throat constricted and her eyes burned, but she held tight to her son. He needed her. With a desperate wave of her wand, she banished the door closed and then sealed it with the strongest charm she could remember. It was a vain hope that it would buy her more than a few extra seconds, but a few seconds could save her life.

She went back to work with a vengeance. None of the spells were working, but there were dozens of spells to choose from. As she made another attempt, she heard a loud noise on the stairs. "Damn! He's overcoming the security on the stairs!" she swore.

Trying to go faster, Lily continued to cast more and more charms to overcome the Anti-Portkey ward, trying to find the one flaw she needed to crack it. As she finished the fourth attempt of this new series, the door to Harry's room blew in and barely missed her. Spinning around, she clutched Harry tightly to her bosom. Voldemort stood in the doorway with a vicious smile on his face. Power radiated off of him.

"As I told your husband, you don't have to die, you know," he calmly said. "I only want to fulfill the prophecy. Just give me the boy and you can live."

"No!" She would sacrifice herself before she let this monster have her son.

"Foolish Mudblood woman! It is not like you could stop me if your pathetic husband could not." He gave an indulgent smile and raised his wand with a careless ease. "_Avada__ Kedavra!_" A sickly green beam shot from his wand.

Lily watched Voldemort's wand and slipped beneath the spell as she dived to the side. It was hard with a bag over one shoulder and a baby on the opposite hip. In desperation, she tried the only other way she could think of to quickly take down his wards. It had a major side-effect, but she was not going to be around to worry about it. She knew she only had a second or so before Voldemort would be able to cast the Killing Curse again.

She felt a surge go out of her as she cried out, "_Signum__ pungo!_"

"_Avada__ ..._"

The area now felt different to her, so Lily touched her wand to the teddy bear for one last try, praying that it would now work. "Activate!" she screamed, her voice filled with terror.

"… _Kedavra__!_"

Relief flooded through her as the Portkey activated and she felt the familiar pull behind her navel. As the Portkey whisked her and Harry away, she saw the wand pointed at her body and a green light of the Killing Curse rushing at her. She twisted, hoping to protect Harry, but the diaper bag hindered her.

Gleefully, Voldemort saw the deadly curse hit the baby in the forehead just as the little boy and his mother left. However, his joy was short lived. In horror, he watched the curse rebound back towards him. It was so fast and he was caught so off guard, he never even tried to move out of the way.

--

Peter Pettigrew stared at the bloody corpse of his one-time close friend. "James, I'm s-s-so s-sorry," he said for the third time since his master had gone upstairs. "You have to understand, I-I didn't have a choice. You d-do remember wh-what you said to me back in school, don't you? And Padfoot, too? Y-you really shouldn't have done that. And when the Master asked, I had to tell him. Don't worry though, it's really for the best." He quietly giggled to himself and continued to look at his former friend, ignoring the fire that was now consuming the couch and the area rug from a Fireball spell which had hit them. "I'm s-s-so s-sorry…"

The sound of a gong reverberated through the house, and then a loud thump came from upstairs. With a smile on his face, Wormtail struggled to use the handrail to pull himself up the collapsed stairs. When he got to the landing, he found one door destroyed. Looking in caused him to be first confused, and then horrified. There was no-one standing and only one dead body on the floor -- his master. There was no evidence that he could see of Lily or Harry being there. There was only his dead master, with all the spell damage up there, too, and his master's wand on the floor.

At a loss to explain these strange observations and in the hope that he might gain some of his master's power, Wormtail picked up the Yew and Phoenix Feather wand and Apparated back to his master's hideout to think about what he should do next. Perhaps he should hide somewhere for a while...

--

The Portkey deposited Lily on the other side of the little village as there was no reason for anyone to suspect she would come here. She stumbled under the weight of the diaper bag and her screaming son, but she regained her balance before she could fall. The four-time survivor of Voldemort's wrath immediately started running. Twenty feet later, she was behind a large bush. Holding Harry tightly as he cried, she concentrated and Apparated straight into Sirius's flat.

Landing, she glanced about. The flat was dark, and no one was home. She could not decide if she was angry or glad that Sirius was out. Both Apparation and Portkeys could be followed if someone did not wait too long to do the destination revealing spell, so she had to hurry through more evasive manoeuvres. For stealth, she cast a sleeping charm on the screaming boy in her arms as she hurriedly walked to the fireplace. That was when she first noticed the bloody spot on his forehead. Still, he had been crying, so it should not be too bad, she hoped. As much as she wished to treat her son, the wound would have to wait for a few minutes.

She grabbed a small handful of Floo Powder and tossed half of it into the fireplace. "The Ministry of Magic," she said in a commanding voice, and she stepped into the green-tinted flames.

The right spell could force a Floo to reveal the last destination on it too, but that spell took longer, which would be a nice buffer for her. Plus, her pursuer would have to guess if she Apparated, took another Portkey, or used a Floo. However, even if someone followed her, the Ministry of Magic had the largest collection of Flooes anywhere on the British Isles. It would be easy to lose any pursuer there.

She came out of the fireplace in the middle of the atrium wall. Because it was late, the night guard was thoroughly engrossed in a magazine behind his desk at the other end of the hall, oblivious of her arrival. After all, it was late enough that he probably had not seen anyone else for hours. Lily turned away from the guard to hide her face, quietly walked over two fireplaces, and threw in the rest of the Floo Powder in her hand. "The Prancing Pony," she whispered. It was a small, out-of-the-way Wizard pub in the Western Isles that the Potters, and no one else they had ever asked, frequented. She and James had picked this place purposefully before they went into hiding.

As she came out of that fireplace, she instantly Apparated to an alcove at an underground station, not far from where her family had lived when she was young. Seeing a tube train come into the station on the other side of the tracks, she quickly Apparated to the other platform, the secrecy about hiding magic from Muggles be damned -- this was life and death. Coming out from behind a large sign, which masked some building work, she ran for the door of the train, reaching it as the doors opened. Hurrying in, she walked to the end of the carriage and sat. The only other passengers were at the other end and paid her no attention after a glance to see that she was not a threat.

Now that she had a minute, she took a deep breath … and almost lost it. No, she could not grieve now. She had to stay strong for Harry and herself until she reached somewhere safe. But, now that she had a few moments, she had something else to do.

Reaching into the baby bag, she pulled out the shrunken survival trunk, which was about the size of a half a loaf of bread. It contained all of her and James's personal journals, irreplaceable books, several changes of clothes, a few meals in cans, and various other items needed for survival, or things that should not be lost. Opening it, she used her fingernails to carefully pull out a very small sparkly square, before she closed the trunk back and put it away. Careful to shield what she was doing from the other passengers, she whispered the enlarging spell as she waved her wand over the small object. Seconds later, she was holding a hand mirror.

"Sirius Black," she whispered into the mirror. While she waited, she tried to think about time. How long had it been since she had used that awful spell to break and collapse every ward she had put on the house and then leave? She was not certain, but it had to have been less than two of the most terrifying minutes of her life. As the caster of the Fidelius charm and the other wards, she had overloaded all of her wards, which had caused a cascading failure taking down all of Voldemort's wards with hers. To anyone who checked the home, it would appear as if there had never been wards, or else she had died. "Sirius Black," she whispered again to hurry him up.

While she waited, she turned her attention to Harry. A film of blood covered his forehead. Lily dabbed at it with the blanket and found a small shallow cut above his eye. The wound was bleeding a lot, but it did not look life threatening. Still, she covered it up with the corner of his blanket and applied light pressure to minimize the bleeding. For a long half minute, the train rumbled down the tracks, and Lily took stock. Finally, the mirror swirled to life and Sirius's voice called out, "James?"

"Ssh, are you alone?" she quietly asked. She hoped the other passengers would think she was talking to her baby on her lap and not the mirror in front of the baby.

"Lily?" he answered also in a soft voice. "I'm at a party, but I stepped into a room when the mirror vibrated. What's wrong? You're not supposed to call on this normally."

"Sirius, we've been betrayed. That bastard Wormtail brought You-Know-Who to our house."

"WHAT?!"

Lily had to cough to try to cover Sirius's shout. "Ssh, other people can hear."

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice an intense hiss. "And are James and Harry with you? Are you all safe?" There was no mistaking the urgency and worry in his voice.

"Sirius," she paused and thought, _oh god this is hard_. "Harry and I are alive." She glanced at the corner of his blanket that was starting to show a small bloody spot, but other than that cut her son seemed fine. "But I don't know about James. Will you please go over to the house and see about James? But be careful, they might still be there! I -- I don't know who to trust anymore besides you..."

"I'm leaving right now," Sirius said with determination in his voice and a grim face. "I'll call you shortly." The image in the mirror wavered, and Sirius's face was replaced with her own distraught face. She placed the mirror back into her bag, not wanting to see the loss in her own eyes.

A moment later, the train arrived at Piccadilly Circus, a busy place which suited her just fine. Getting off the train, she hid amidst the other passengers, but managed to hover near the back of the Halloween crowd. When she thought no one was looking her way, she Apparated to a little clearing in the Forbidden Forest, about a half-mile from Hagrid's cottage and outside of the school wards.

She knelt down and lit her wand. Once more she pulled out her survival trunk, opened it, retrieved a little stick, and then returned the trunk to her bag. Dousing her light, she tapped her wand to the stick, which grew into a full-sized old Comet Quidditch broom. She lacked James's passion for flying, but she flew well enough. Balancing the bag and Harry, she mounted the broom, Disillusioned everything, and pushed off. With infinite caution, she guided her broom toward the large castle rising above the canopy of the forest.

Taking care to hide from the Headmaster's tower windows, she skirted the castle battlements until she found a dark window tucked underneath the room in the north tower that housed the new Divination Teacher. She unlocked and opened the window so she could fly in. She lit the torches on the walls as she entered the room. The sputtering light revealed an unused classroom with no portraits, exactly what she wanted. With a quick wave of her wand, she cancelled her Disillusionment charms and set to work on securing the room.

First the door. Although a locking charm might suffice, having no door was better. Unfortunately, transfiguration was not her specialty, and so the glacial-paced transformation of wood to stone required all of her skill and concentration. Once complete, the now solid wall bore no evidence that a door had ever existed. Satisfied that she would be safe for at least a few hours, she conjured a bed with all the linens and laid Harry down on it. While conjured items eventually disappeared, she had enough magical power to make something of this size last for the night.

At the thought that she should be safe for the night, the results of being in a hyper-state for the last fifteen minutes or so caught up with her. Lily almost collapsed as the shakes from her adrenalin rush left her. She sagged down to the bed and leaned on it for a few minutes, taking slow deep breaths to recover. Knowing she _must_ go on for a little while longer, she focused on her son's face as she recovered.

When her hands were mostly steady again, she tenderly peeled the blood encrusted blanket back and found the cut on her child's forehead, which still had not scabbed. Cleaning it revealed a thin cut in the shape of a lightening bolt with one jag in it over his right eye. Trying as hard as she could, she could not get it to heal like a normal cut would.

Perplexed, she ran through the night's events. The splinters of the nursery door had not come anywhere near her, and collapsing wards would not have cut anyone. Voldemort had only cast the Killing Curse… Lily gasped. It was not possible. No one had ever survived the Killing Curse, but it would explain the cut. Somehow her baby had miraculously survived. However, that meant that the protection charm James had done earlier that evening had worked. It had worked because he had sacrificed himself for Harry. A wave of grief swelled over her, and Lily had to struggle for a moment not to drown in the emotion.

She turned to her son and began to examine the wound more closely, but the mirror buzzed. She pulled it out of the baby bag. "Yes?"

"Lily, it's me. Oh god, Lily, I'm sorry. I got there just as Hagrid came out of the house with James's body." He had not known how to soften that blow, so he had not even tried.

Fortunately for him, Lily had been expecting that answer, though that did not make it any less painful. The woman hung her head as tears started streaking down her face. "I was afraid of that. James wouldn't have given up for anything, so when Voldemort came up the stairs, I knew it had to be true." She continued to try to force her tears not to flow, but they came anyway.

"You fought him again?"

"I dodged and got lucky," she clarified after a sniffle. "Listen, have you told anyone I'm alive?" A plan was forming in her mind. It was a variation of one she and James had come up with.

"No. I'm trying to find Moony so we can start hunting for the effing rat. He's not at his house."

This just might work, Lily thought. "All right, don't tell anyone I'm alive. Act like Harry and I are dead."

"Not even Moony?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"No, well, not unless you absolutely have to. The fewer people who know, the fewer there are that can spill the secret. Besides finding Wormtail, I have one assignment for you. Get James's wand, wedding ring, and his Invisibility Cloak. Albus will have the Cloak. Wrap those up and owl them to me before morning."

"I can do that, though Albus may want to know why when all three of you are supposed to be dead," Sirius pointed out, his face constantly changing as his emotions warred within him.

"Try not to, but you can tell Albus if you really must. No, wait, if you have to tell him, demand an Unbreakable Oath to keep it a secret from everyone, no exceptions. I want those things, especially the Cloak, and then Harry and I are going to disappear for a while until it's safe to come out."

The anguish on Sirius's face told Lily that he did not like hearing that. "Where are you going, Lily?"

"James and I have one more safe house. The less you know the better. I'll call you on the mirror on all of our birthdays at midnight. That's three times a year. Do _not_ try to call me, I won't answer."

His eyes narrowed in dislike. "Are you sure, Lily? Perhaps there's some way I can help you... Or Harry. He _is_ my godson..."

"I'm sorry Sirius, but I'm sure." Lily took a deep breath to keep the tears at bay. "Owl me that stuff."

He hung his head. "Are you at least safe for tonight?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Safe enough. Don't worry, I don't expect anyone to find us tonight, but I can't stay here past morning. Just owl me the things I asked for, and I'll call you in a couple of weeks on your birthday." Lily did not have to ask for Wormtail's head. She knew Sirius would do that anyway.

Sirius looked like he wanted to argue, but Lily's tone stopped him. "Fine. I'll get the stuff you asked for and owl it to you. I better go now so I can find Moony, and we can go hunting. I'll keep the mirror on me, and I want you to call if you need anything, anytime, anywhere. Do you understand?"

Lily gave him a tired and forced smile. "Thanks, Sirius, I owe you. Keep Moony with you, don't split up. Good-night and godspeed, Sirius." She turned the mirror off and laid it down. A soft sob escaped. Sniffling, she wiped away the tears with the sleeve of her robe and turned back to her son. She had to finish with him before she could rest.

Casting various diagnostic spells on the new wound, she became perplexed. This was certainly not a normal wound. Worse, there seemed to be a bit of magic stuck there. Several spells later, she had isolated that extra magic so that Harry was protected from it, then she cast a magic draining charm on it. To her surprise and horror, the scar came alive and writhed for a couple of seconds before it went still.

Checking the wound again, she found nothing, not even her protective spell. Checking Harry, she found his magical core, but she swore it was stronger now than when she had checked on his birthday three months ago. In fact, it was significantly stronger. Something must have happened tonight, but she was unsure of exactly what. Still, at least she had removed whatever that residual magic had been in him. There was no telling what that would have done over time.

Now that Harry seemed to be a normal, healthy baby again, Lily cast another healing charm on the wound, and it closed up, leaving the faintest of lines that would all but disappear over time. As she changed his diaper, she considered what had happened to Harry tonight, and that it was a blessing for the scar to be that small, let alone for her child to have survived at all. Finally, she cleaned the blood off of his blanket with a cleaning spell and laid him in bed. He looked so innocent, wonderful, and cute, just like a child should. She smiled as only a mother could at her son as she kicked off her shoes and crawled into bed with him.

With a wave of her wand, all the lights in the room went off and she pulled the blanket over her and her son. Holding him tightly, as if to prevent him from being pulled away, Lily finally gave into the deep sorrow she had been holding back. The young widow, who was barely twenty-one, quietly sobbed herself to sleep over the next hour.

* * *

An insistent hooting woke Lily Potter. She looked at the window. A big brown owl was hovering near the window ledge. She went over and took the package from the bird and let it fly off. Opening the plain bag, she found her three requested items. "Thank you, Sirius," she said.

Returning to the bed, she watched Harry wriggle around and gurgle as he woke up. Looking at her watch, she saw it was nearly seven in the morning. She needed to get a move on if she was to leave without anyone seeing her.

As quick as she could, she changed Harry's nappy. Standing him on the floor and letting him hold onto her leg, she vanished the conjured bed. Then she turned to face the blank stone wall that had held a door, and she concentrated on the transfiguration and slowly brought the door back.

Satisfied, she picked up Harry, his bag, and her broom. With James's wand and ring in her pocket, and his Cloak around her and Harry, she flew out the window and closed it back. With care to hold onto Harry, she took her time reaching the forest. Harry giggled and chortled, enjoying the flying. She used to hate it when James or Sirius would take Harry flying, but now she appreciated them as those flights were working in her favour as her son enjoyed the sensation.

Nearly five minutes later, Lily landed in the same clearing she had used the previous night. While she juggled everything she was holding, she pulled out her wand and touched it to her wedding ring. "Secret Home." As the pull took a hold of her, she considered that what she was doing was illegal, as it was an unregistered international Portkey. But, since the Ministry had failed to rein in the Dark wizard who had killed her husband, she felt they had no right to hold this Portkey against her.

After a much longer than normal transit, Lily landed hard on her feet and then overbalanced and fell over from all the things she was holding in her arms, including a frightened baby boy. "Mumma?"

"There, there, it's all right," Lily said, patting her son's head. "Be a good boy just a little bit longer, Harry. I know we're home, but we need to leave, do a few things, and then arrive the right way." They had arrived in a plain little house that she and James had seen during their visit to Japan nearly three months ago, when the war had turned very personal.

They had loved the quaint place when they had visited disguised as Japanese Muggles. The people in the small village had been wary of them at first, but when it came out that Lily had studied medicine, there had been a little cautious acceptance -- although grudging tolerance might have been a better description. So they had bought the small house and hired an older widower neighbour to take care of the gardens until they could move in after James had finished his merchant-sailor job sometime in the future. It had been a good plan. A young nurse and her sailor husband without any extended family. It still was a good plan, just without her husband now.

Coming back to the present, Lily sat Harry down for a moment and then pulled her survival trunk out and expanded it. Lily pulled out clean Muggle clothes for herself and changed. She also changed Harry and made a bottle for him while she had a breakfast from her survival supplies. Then, using her mirror to check her results, she placed several glamours on herself and a couple on Harry to help them blend in with the locals better. She also cast a language translation spell on herself, pulled an amount of Yen from the trunk, and put the notes in her pocket. Finally she put everything else but Harry into the trunk and closed it. Scooping up Harry, who had happily toddled away to check out the house, she grabbed the trunk and Apparated to the common Apparation site in the country's capital.

Dragging the lightened trunk behind her, she walked to a nearby Wizarding hotel where she rented a room for the next month. After going up to their room, she transfigured an extra chair into a crib and placed little Harry in it. She bent down and kissed her son's ear and whispered, "Welcome to Japan, Harry. We'll be back to our new home in Heiwateki in a month or two. Mummy just has to do a little work to pick up a nursing certificate."

Lily unpacked their meagre belongings as she considered the hurdles still in front of her. On their previous trip, when they had purchased the house, they had also purchased identities in Japan. To the Muggle government, she was the daughter of an American sailor and a Japanese woman from Osaka. She and her Japanese husband had met through family friends. Her husband was, or had been, a merchant sailor for a Japanese company. Lily had all the legal documents required to live here and show a history of living and working in Japan, although that had cost them both a pretty Knut. Even with all that, she still had some fear at not fitting into a culture that strongly preferred conformance, adhering to tradition and family. The problem would be even worse as a woman with no family, sort of like a house-elf in a Pureblood household. But they had picked this country because it was so different and so far from England. Voldemort would never think to look here. If only they had come here first.

However, there was no time to dwell on impossible wishes. After she was unpacked and settled in, she took Harry and left the hotel. She made her way through the Japanese version of Diagon Alley to get a better idea of how everything was organized in her new homeland. After an hour, she stopped at a small place that did not look too busy and bought some food. She was hungry, but more importantly, she needed to test out her language skills. Fortunately, the translation spell worked reasonably well. Also, the more she listened to others, the more the spell helped her to pick up the language. She held her sleeping son as she finished the last of her lunch and thought about her new life.

It was going to be hard to adjust to life without James. She wondered how long she would cry herself to sleep at nights. She also was not sure how a young widow with a small child would be treated here, but she would do the best she could to start a new life. That new life was about protecting her son and getting him ready for what must come. "Damn Trelawney!" she thought to herself as she cursed the prophecy that made that duty necessary, but what choice did she have?

She also tried to work out who had told Voldemort the beginning of the prophecy and pointed the monster at her family. The Headmaster had only said a young Death Eater had heard the first part and run away. Not for the first time, she wondered if Albus knew more than he was telling. She also wondered what she was going to do about it.

* * *

(19 Nov 1981 - Sirius's birthday)

Lily thought she had everything set up like she wanted. There was a picture of her on the table in front of the magical mirror, and a white sheet obscured the wall behind the picture. No matter how hard Sirius looked, Lily was certain he would not see anything she did not want him to see. She stepped to the side of the mirror, just out of view, and called, "Sirius Black." It was nine in the morning on the 19th of November, approximately two and a half weeks after that fateful night. He should be expecting her call.

A few seconds later, Sirius's voice spoke from the mirror. "Lily? Why am I looking at a picture of you?"

Lily smiled to herself. "Because I'm trying to protect you, Sirius. The less you know about where we are and what we look like now, the better off you are."

"Do you really think I'd betray you, Lily?" He sounded hurt.

She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to hold back her feelings. "I'd like to say no, but to be honest, I don't know who to fully trust anymore. I, ah, I hope you understand."

Sirius sighed in a tired voice. "I do, sadly I do. I thought Wormtail was one of us." He paused and blew out a deep breath. "I guess I should start with an apology, for what little good it will do. I am so very sorry I suggested the switch, Lily. If I hadn't done that…" His voice cracked.

"Sirius, please stop it!" Lily was failing to hold her emotions in check as the tears started welling in her eyes. This conversation was harder than she had expected. "It's not your fault. James and I agreed with your suggestion. We could have said no to you like we had to Albus's offer to be the Secret Keeper."

"I wish you had. Oh god, I wish you had just told me to shut up."

"Me, too, but it's too late now." She paused and drew a big breath, trying to clear the tightness in her chest. "Sirius? Can I ask a big favour of you?"

"Anything, Lily, anything. I'd hide any secret you want and give you an Unbreakable Vow if I could."

Maybe this would not be so hard, she thought. "Will you give me a Wizard's Oath that you'll help me and keep everything secret?"

"Of course, Lily." He cleared his throat and made a few noises trying to sound normal. "_Ego fides_. I, Sirius Orion Black, do swear this Wizard's Oath on my magic that I will work in Lily and Harry Potter's best interest and keep their secrets until they release me from this promise. So I swear, _Ego fides_."

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the bright flash on the hanging sheet. "Thank you, Sirius. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Anything for you, Lily," he sounded so guilty. "And just so you know, I haven't told anyone about you or Harry … not Albus, not even Moony. So tell me, how are you and Harry doing?"

"As well as can be expected. I'm…" she sniffled once, her emotions coming back with a vengeance as she thought about why she was in a new place. "I'm doing my best to fit in and make a new life here. We'll have to wait and see what happens. What's been happening there?"

A little bit of cheer crept back into his voice. "You'll be happy to know that no one other than me knows you're still alive."

"That's good," she said with relief, "that's really good."

"Dumbledore believes that because all of your wards and the Fidelius charm are gone," he explained. "What really happened?"

She blew out her breath, wishing she could tell him, but it was for his own good that he not know all the details. "Sirius, like James and I told you before, we can't tell you the full reason, but I'll tell you now that Albus came to us a few months ago and said that he had heard that Voldemort would be after us and the Longbottoms more than anyone else."

"Alice and Frank are still fine and in hiding," Sirius interjected.

"That's good to hear. Anyway, what we didn't tell you was that in mid-October, he came and told us that a spy had informed him that Voldemort was coming for us soon. That's why…" she started to lose it again and had to pause for a deep breath, "…why we put up the Fidelius charm and other wards to protect ourselves." She hated the fact that all the work had been for nothing because of one stupid rat.

"Do you know who the spy in Voldemort's group was?" Sirius asked.

"No, but I don't think it was Wormtail. Albus implied it was someone else. That it was someone who had had a change of heart, so probably a young Death Eater."

"I see. Then what happened on Halloween?" he asked hesitantly, as if he was afraid to find out.

Lilly closed her eyes and swallowed hard, knowing that Sirius deserved to know, no matter how much she did not want to relive that night. "We had just put Harry down for the evening, and James and I were enjoying some time to ourselves." She tried to block out the thought of not having any more times with James like that and was having a hard time.

"I felt an Anti-Apparation ward go up. James looked out the front and saw Voldemort and Wormtail." Her tightly controlled anger exploded at the memory of the betrayal. "I couldn't believe that he had betrayed us!"

She took a deep breath before saying the next part in almost a whisper. "But it was true, and we didn't have a plan for that. We had a plan for the wards failing, for one of us being gone, for everything but that." Unfelt tears streaked Lily's face. "At least we had a plan for if Voldemort found us, so we executed that plan. I went for Harry to get away while," she had to pause to sniffle again, "James delayed them to give me time." She had to stop again to sniffle, and Sirius did not interrupt.

"As soon as I left, it was supposed to signal James to let him know we were gone and for him to get away too, but that didn't happen because -- that -- that monster!" she screamed the last word before she paused and pulled her emotions back in order so she could talk. "He put up an Anti-Portkey ward, too. James was," she hesitated and took a few more breaths, "oh god, he was dead before I could break the wards. And then **_He _**found us before I could get away and," the words flowed and would not stop, like the tears that now clouded her vision, "I had to dodge one Killing Curse. I was desperate. I did a spell that overloaded all my wards in an attempt to take out the Anti-Portkey ward, too. We left just as he launched another Killing Curse." Her words stopped, but her tears did not.

In the near silence as she sobbed, Sirius commented, "That was close!"

She gave a sad and bitter laugh. "It was closer than you think. I think Harry got hit with the curse." The lie was bitter on her tongue, but she did it to protect her son. "But, because we were already Portkeying away, it didn't kill Harry. He has a small scar that doesn't want to go away no matter how I try to heal it. I think the scar will always be slightly visible." She did not plan to tell Sirius about the protection spell she and James had done. No one else really needed to know about that.

"And then I made my way here," she said in relief. Although she had dreaded telling Sirius, Lily felt somehow better after unburdening her guilt. So many nights she had lain awake wishing for someone who could comfort her or listen. Like draining a wound, telling the story would help her heal a little.

"By the way, thank you for sending my husband's things to me." Not saying his name helped a little.

Sirius snorted. "You won't believe what I had to go through to get them, though."

"Oh?" With Dumbledore, she could believe almost anything. He was quite brilliant, but over time, she had decided that maybe he was not playing with a full potions kit any more. That was why she had not wanted him to be their Secret Keeper.

"Yeah. I had to swear an oath that I was working in your best interest. Before then, I spent most of the night trying to find Moony, so by the time I made arrangements to go hunting with him, the sun was starting to come up. I made my way to Hogwarts shortly after that, only to be greeted by multiple hexes from McGonagall as I walked in the front door. She slammed me into a wall with no regard for my person, I tell you. It hurt like hell, too!"

A smile came over Lily as she listened to the story. It felt good to smile again, even if it was at Sirius's expense.

"Then she took me up to the Headmaster's office and Dumbledore told me he was going to have me arrested for betraying you. I had to do some fast talking and an oath swearing I didn't."

"Look on the bright side, Sirius. The plan to make everyone think you were the Secret Keeper did work." Lily mentally shuddered to think what might have happened if they had not believed Sirius. If they had thrown him in prison, she would have had to come out of hiding to rescue him.

"Thanks, Lily," he said with a slightly sarcastic tone. "Anyway, Hagrid pulled James's body out," Sirius's tone became sadder, "but he couldn't get up the stairs to check there, so that's why I could get the ring and the wand. I found out that Albus only knows that an adult died in your house. Apparently, some of your potions fueled the fire, and it burned so hot the Muggle firemen had trouble putting it out. The fire also burned the body so badly they couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. I assume that was You-Know-Who's body?"

"Yes," she confirmed -- there was no other logical answer. She knew the Killing Curse had hit Harry, so it must have rebounded back to Voldemort. "And Sirius, you can say his name; he's not going to come get you."

"I know, it's just habit. So they really do think all three of you are dead."

"I'm sorry you had to mislead them, but thanks, Sirius." Lily was thankful, but the memories of that night were starting to get to her again.

"Oh," Sirius went on, not seeing Lily's emotional change for the worse, "Frank and Alice are still safe, or so I'm told as I haven't actually talked to them since they went into hiding. I haven't heard when they plan to come out."

Lily nodded and responded automatically. "If they're smart, they'll wait until the Death Eaters are captured, or that's what I'd do." The memories and the emotions kept pounding at her.

"That could be a long time, Lily."

"Better safe than sorry." Lily said sadly. She wiped her very wet eyes with a handkerchief, something she had used a lot in the last few weeks. Reliving that night left her emotionally drained.

"So you've left to start a new life?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," she said in exhaustion, although her next statement was said with conviction. "Here I am, and I'll do my _damnedest_ to raise Harry well and to prepare him for when **_He _**comes back."

"You think he'll really come back again? He's dead." Sirius sounded very surprised. "The body in your house, it was him…" He sounded so hopeful that the war had to be over.

"I know how you feel," Lily told him as part of her thought through the prophecy and how not all of it had been fulfilled. "I also wish he was truly gone, so that," but she had to stop for a moment. Her voice was rough when she continued. "So that James's sacrifice might mean more, but I don't believe it. I -- I can't prove it, but I believe he did something so he's not really dead and he'll return some day." It was a small lie of omission, but it was better for Sirius's sake. She could not explain that she knew because not all of the prophecy had been fulfilled.

"That doesn't make sense." Sirius sounded so confused.

"I'm sure it doesn't, Sirius, but just take my word for it. Call it a woman's hunch if it will make you feel better." She hated these little lies to her friend, but she felt like she had no choice at the moment.

"I really hope you're wrong, Lily, I want you to be wrong," he said with strength for the first time. He sighed a long and deep sigh. "I suppose it'll be ten years before I see you, won't it? I mean -- you know, when Harry has to come back for school?"

Lily shook her head, although she knew her friend could not see her. "No, Sirius. I'm really sorry, but it might be longer." She took another deep breath and tried to focus on a better future rather than the painful past. "We're not coming back until Harry can fully defend himself, or until I have a really good reason and know that Harry will be safe. Until then, Voldemort is the Ministry's responsibility." The thought of what she might be condemning the people of England to was hard to swallow, but her son was more important to her, and if the prophecy was right, he was more important to them, too.

Sirius chuckled, but it sounded forced and somewhat hollow to Lily. "Well, I have some good news for you there. Not only has it been reported that You-Know-Who not been seen since before Halloween, but Death Eater activity has been at an all-time low since you left."

A small smile, only the second since _that night_, graced her face. "That's good to hear, and I hope it stays that way. Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"There was one other strange thing that happened that night." Only analytical thought saved her from more despair.

"Oh, what?"

"When I examined Harry's wound, where the curse hit him, it was like there was some sort of foreign magic there," she said. In truth, she was still trying to think up an answer for the mystery.

"And? Don't keep me in suspense, Lily."

"That's the problem, Padfoot, I don't know what it was, and that scares me! The only way I can describe it is to say that it was in the family of spells that make our magical communication mirrors work, but I have no idea what it would have connected Harry to. **_He_** was only throwing Killing Curses around." Lily was frustrated as it did not make sense. But then predicting what happened when multiple spells came together was more often an art rather than a science, and there had been three sources of magic active when Harry had been hit.

"Is Harry all right? What are you going to do about it?" Now Sirius sounded very concerned.

"Fortunately, I managed to isolate it to protect Harry, and then I removed it that night." She heard Sirius breath a sigh of relief. "I've been checking him daily, and I still don't see anything different now, other than an overall magical core power increase. Thankfully, it appears I got rid of whatever the foreign magic was."

Sirius considered that before he asked, "Or else Harry's system absorbed it?"

"I suppose that's possible. I'll keep watching him." She took a deep breath to try to clear her worry about her son. The emotional conversation had begun to wear on her. "Anything else we need to talk about now?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Are you sure that you're OK, Lily? I could leave Moony my flat and come there for a while. I can take a leave of absence from work for a month or so." The charmer in Sirius was starting to show again as he tried to talk her into letting him help her.

"Thanks for the offer, Sirius, but I think we'll be fine." She hoped that was not a lie. "Take care of yourself and Moony. Don't let him run off by himself. I'll call you again on my birthday."

"If you're sure," he sighed. "Very well, Lily. Until midnight on the 30th of January…"

"Until then, Sirius…" Lily waved her wand over the mirror and broke the connection. She sat for a moment and kneaded her temples and then around her eyes. She needed to go wash her face. She hoped her crying would not be obvious to everyone she met that day. Of course, even if it were, the Japanese were too polite to mention it.

After cleaning up her face and the room, she went to check on Harry before she started on her daily work. As a student in a local nursing school, she was kept busy. It was an unexpected boon which she enjoyed as it helped her ignore her loss. Because of her Charms background and all the healing spells she knew, training to be a nurse was more memorization than hard work. A little extra money also had bought the proper work history showing previous nursing experience. That would speed up her schooling to become a Public Health Nurse. Over time, she could study to become a Registered Nurse.

Fortunately for her and her son, she had been able to hire an older witch to watch Harry when she was away. Between that, her time at the hotel, and the school expenses, her immediately available funds would not last as long as she had initially planned. On the plus side, she could transfigure or charm a lot of things, so her other expenses were quite low.

She expected to finish her schooling and have her Muggle nursing certificate by the end of the year. So, in another five weeks, she could move to the little house in the village that she and James had purchased. She expected it would take at least a few years for her to find any acceptance there, but as the only person in the small village with a medical background, she also hoped she would be accepted faster than a normal outsider would. Of course, if required, some discrete magic could help her, too.

A part-time job as a nurse also had the added benefit that she could spend a lot of time with her son, at least at the beginning. In a few years, everything would change, she knew. He would have to start going to school when he was six, just like all the other Muggle children in the village. Before then, she would teach him to read and write so he would be able to do everything the other students could do. She prayed she could keep his accidental magic down to small things she could easily hide until then. That was when she planned to get him a training wand and start teaching him a little magic. That should help him with control. Thankfully, Japan was more progressive than England. There was no Underage Magical Restriction, just the basic Statute of Secrecy from the ICW.

She had a lot to learn over the next ten to fifteen years so she could teach Harry all he would need to know. He had so much to learn before they could return to England and fulfill his destiny.

* * *

((A/N: There's the premise for you. When I think it useful, I'll put little "universe notes" and maybe questions here at the end.

Why did Lily move around so much when she was on the run? I believe that Disapparation and Portkeys should be able to be followed, **if** you can do the Destination Revealing spell fast enough and very near the point of departure. My thought is that like ripples in a pond show where the object entered the water and fade with time, so the change in the fabric of space after a departure can be traced if you don't wait too long. Also, by using some Muggle transportation, she hoped to throw off any Death Eaters following her.

Question for everyone to think about before the next chapter: What will it mean to Harry to grow up with his mother? This will cause some very large changes from canon!Harry. :-)

Bonus question for those who like to analyze stories: What will it mean for Harry when he returns to England, having been raised by an English mother in the Japanese culture? (You can't say anything SquidTamer! :-) (Who says "AWWW!" :-)

Note, if I've done my research correctly, there really is no such city as "Heiwateki, Japan", that way I can put it anywhere. :-) "Heiwateki" can be translated to "peaceful" with tranquility also implied. (Thanks ST!)

Chapter 2 is already drafted, so hopefully it will only be 2-3 weeks before it comes out … if I can get my act together and RealLife is kind to my betas. :-)

A dictionary of things I've made up:  
_"...abbas amor_" - a father's love  
_"Ego fides" - _I promise  
_"Signum pungo"_ - puncture a seal (sends a blast of energy into wards in order to bring them down, only possible by the creator of the wards)

Again, thanks to my helpers (in alpha order): JonathanAvery, moshpit, Reg, Sovran, and SquidTamer.))


	2. Chapter 2

((A/N: Here begins the story…

This next "virtual chapter", which will be chapters 2-4, will help you understand Harry, his "family", and the story's universe. His school friends will join us in chapter 5.

Note to the canon police. I know that Augustus Rookwood was in Azkaban from 1981 until 1996 in canon, but I need him to have kept his cover, so assume he was never turned in at the end of the first Riddle war.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome "Reg" to my beta team. He's volunteered to be my "Brit picker" and to keep me honest in that area. In addition to helping from here on out, he's also fixed chapter 1 for me, which I've just reposted. Nothing in the plot changed, but the new version is now the official one.

Finally, an apology for the length of time it took to get the chapter out. "Real Life" has not kind to many of us recently. To make matters worse, about the time the chapter came back to me in the middle of the beta process, I lost all motivation to write for a few weeks. I've learned my lesson and I won't try to guess when the next chapter will be ready. OTOH, as the chapter has gone back and forth, it's also gained about 3500 words, so you get a longer chapter for your wait. :-)

To make up for my tardiness, I've posted a short Harry/Daphne story here on FF. It's been sitting on my hard drive for a while, so I only had to polish it before I posted.

To help those who read too much… :-) From last time:

_1981-10-31:  
Voldemort killed James, but Lily managed to escape with Harry. Other than Sirius, everyone else thinks she and her son are dead. The two remaining Potters escaped to their last safe house in Japan._

_1981-11-19:  
Lily and Sirius discuss what happened and make a few plans. The Potters will live in a small Muggle village with Lily working as a nurse. They do not plan to return to England until Harry can fully defend himself or they must return for some other very important reason._  
))

* * *

**Chapter 2: Prelude to War (Part 1)**

(Sat, 24 Feb 1996)

With a quick flick of his left hand, Harry Potter muttered, "_Protego._" He grunted as the attempted wandless shield failed and forced him to dive to his left to avoid a spell. "_Diffindo._" A pale red beam shot from his wand towards his mother across the room, she lithely dodged his spell.

"_Adhaero. Expelliarmus."_ She shot right back at him. The grey spell caught him in mid stride and stuck his feet to the ground. His arms flailed for a second as he adjusted his balance to the awkward position, and the second spell plucked his wand from his loose grasp. His mother deftly caught the wand and smiled at him. "Good try, Harry. You almost had me with the Body Bind."

"Thanks, Mother. Now would you please unstick my feet or give me my wand so I can -- please!" The last word came out as a plaintive whine. "This is really uncomfortable." His legs were spread apart, and his muscles slowly started to burn as he was forced to maintain his uncomfortable position.

His mother smiled again and opened her left hand, balancing his wand there as she walked over to the side of the room to pick up a glass of water. Harry concentrated on his wand, thinking of summoning his wand; his lips moving slightly as he cast it. The wand jumped out of her hand and flew to him. He snatched it before it could go flying by. He pointed it at his feet and gave it the barest of movements as he muttered, "_Finite!_" He almost fell over backwards as his weight shifted. A chuckle came from his mother when he stumbled from the release. He glared slightly as he stood up straight again and walked over to join her for a drink.

While pleased that he was no longer in an uncomfortable position, he was not happy with the result of the training exercise. Harry knew he would have to win every real fight he had with his enemies, yet he was not able to consistently win against his mother. He was also displeased by his ability to make his wandless shield work consistently. He had been working on it for the last six months, and it only worked about one time in five. That was better than six months ago, but the inconsistency ate at him.

"You need more experience and more creativity. Don't be afraid to use spells in unexpected ways," she said. "Creativity and independent thinking are not bad things, no matter what you've been taught in school," she gently admonished him before her tone turned to one of praise. "You really are doing much better, Harry, but experience can't be taught. Just be patient and keep trying."

He stood taller in response to her praise, and he could tell she really was happy with him. But then he frowned. "I can't believe my wandless shield still doesn't work all the time."

Lily chuckled. "Keep practicing, Harry. Even I have trouble doing that at times."

Harry nodded and stretched. He looked around their magical practice room and once again smiled at their secret. Shortly after they had moved in, his mother had spent many evenings creating a hidden room under their house. A hidden trapdoor in a closet led to this magically shielded room. No one, not even another wizard or witch, should be able to tell it was here. The room was also magically protected against stray spells so they would be safe from a cave-in. His mother had done an amazing job of creating a learning environment for him.

"Why don't you make us a couple of comfy chairs," Lily suggested, "and then we can work through the last batch of _Daily Prophets_ and London newspapers I picked up in Tokyo yesterday." She summoned the bundle of papers and deposited them on a small conjured table while Harry conjured two lounge chairs. They each grabbed one off the top and started skimming the articles.

They did this at least once a week, skimming both Wizarding and Muggle periodicals. Harry scanned through the publications looking for specific words and phrases he had been trained to look for. Several items such as bank robberies, a missing person in south London, and an unexplained death in the Lake District all caught his attention. He read the articles, but mostly he watched for unusual occurrences and tried to a general feel for what was happening in the world.

Across from him, his mother quickly flipped through her paper, and he watched her for a moment. It was still odd seeing his mother without her glamours on. She had an exotic look with her dark red hair framing her pale skin and her almond-shaped green eyes, which were scanning the pages of the paper in front of her. For years, Harry had struggled with the truth behind his mother's Japanese persona, Yoko Sato. He had grown up calling a dark-haired, Japanese woman his mother, and sometimes he simply could not reconcile the two. This was made worse because almost the only time he saw her looking like she naturally should was when they were duelling.

His mother no longer allowed them to duel with their glamours on. "In a battle," she had often admonished him, "the smallest delay or distraction can cause you to lose. In England, we won't be fighting as Yoko and Katsurou. In fact, we will not be able to hide as we are now. A stray Finite Incantatem could be disastrous."

As in all things, Harry had deferred to his mother on that point. After walking into their home several times as a young boy and finding Lily Potter instead of Yoko Sato, he understood how costly that moment of surprise could be. They had almost lost their cover once when he brought a friend home from school. Luckily, his mother had reluctantly modified the boy's memory, but still, the paranoid caution his mother's daily lessons had ingrained in him was all too necessary.

Harry did not doubt the threat that Voldemort's supporters or the Wizarding world in general could pose to him and his mother. He had known of the destiny that awaited him back in England for years. For a time, he had been angry that destiny had been forced upon him, but he had left behind the folly of youth and come to grips with that part of his life years ago. That destiny was now a simple duty, a matter of family honour. No, what scared him most was that he would make a mistake or find himself unable to meet his mother's standards, and she would be killed because of his failure.

He could never allow that. He had no family other than his mother. There were Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus, his mother's old friends, but they were just voices he heard every few months through a magical mirror. Harry knew his uncles cared for him, but it was not the same. The sacrifices his mother had made for his safety were humbling. Harry doubted he could ever do what she had done, and that was a debt he tried to repay every single day.

Harry noticed his mother's lips were drawn in a thin line as she read. Something in the paper bothered her. But of course, for the last year she had become increasingly agitated and short when she read the news. His training, both magical and physical, had picked up as well. Both of them could read the signs, and since she had lived through the first war, Harry was certain that his mother saw more than he did. They would be returning to England soon. He could feel it. With a sigh, Harry returned to his papers.

After nearly twenty minutes, Lily put down the last of the papers and looked at her son. "Well?"

"It's looking slightly worse, although the _Prophet_ doesn't seem to see it that way." She waved her hand to get him to continue. "There's an article from last Tuesday about a family's house burning down. Although they made it out safely, the head of the family is a member of the Wizengamot."

"So, you think …?" she asked and motioned for Harry to carry it to the conclusion.

"I think they were being pressured and initially refused, so their house was set on fire. There is no quote from them, so that seems to reinforce the idea to me; they didn't want to say anything to the reporters which might make their situation worse."

"I agree," she said, and he seemed to sit up a little straighter. "What else?"

"Not much else here that I can find, but I'm concerned with the number of unsolved robberies I saw in the Daily Telegraph last week. I think that's Him trying to raise more money. How else do you explain things like a jewellery store robbery in the middle of the day that the employees don't remember happening? Or, when they check the video cameras, they find that the electronic circuitry was fried?"

She nodded. "An excellent point and well argued. I believe I would agree with you on that, too." He smiled again before he took a drink of water.

Harry took pleasure in the act of working through a problem well, or really anything that pleased his mother; but being intellectually clever and arguing well was one of his simple pleasures. He even occasionally debated one of his friends just for the fun of debate and to see how far he could take an argument to its logical conclusion.

Of course, trying to analyse what was happening in the war and then planning what should be done was an intellectual exercise whose complexity boggled his mind. He was very glad to have his mother's help and training for that.

Lily pointed at the paper in her hand. "I found one other thing in the _Prophet_. There was an article about the Department of Magical Regulation being behind in approving new houses. Considering how easy that is to do, I have to wonder if there's something else happening there." She looked at him to see if he wanted to tackle the question.

Harry considered the problem. After several long seconds, he shook his head.

"This is where experience helps, as this was not an uncommon thing during the first war," she explained. "But if I was there, I'd check the people in that department for signs of being under the Imperius Curse. It tends to reduce your efficiency."

He lightly smacked the side of his head. "That's right, you've explained that before. I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, Harry, but do try not to forget. It's one of the enemy's best tools, especially if their agent is someone who is well respected and can move in many circles, as well as having a lot of will power to make the curse successful and well hidden." He nodded as he absorbed the information. "If the agent has quite a bit more will power than his victim, then the victim will act quite normally -- at least for a while."

"Right, and if the instructions are too different from their normal behaviour, you get either unusual looks on the person's face or inconsistent behaviour after a short time," he finished for her.

Lily Potter thought about the situation a little more as she downed the last of her water. "That sort of thing is becoming more common, even if the Ministry is trying to get the _Prophet_ to hide it. I'm starting to wonder if it's time for us to go back."

"To England?" Harry asked. Since the increase in suspicious activity, his mother had made excuse after excuse not to return. The sudden change of heart caught Harry by surprise.

"Yes. You're doing quite well, and I'm not sure how much more I can teach you, Harry. Despite the trouble I give you when we duel, I believe you can hold your own against most adults and the average Death Eater recruit. You really need the experience of fighting lots of different people, and that's not going to be happening here."

He nodded as he too tried to predict what might happen. "You have a point. Suki and her parents are about the only other people I can practice with. They've taught me many useful skills, although few apply to the training in defence that I need, and I cannot impose on them more." He considered the problem for a moment more before his face brightened. "How about that Auror you got to help me with the Unforgivables last year? Could he help train me more?"

"No," she shook her head. "That was a one-time thing for him, and I Obliviated him, too, just to be safe. Besides, just because he showed you how to handle the Unforgivables does not mean he would be good in a fight or a war." She stopped and smiled. "But I do know an Auror in England who is quite good, and I know he'd be willing to help us.

"We'll talk to Sirius about this during our next call. Come on, Harry, up and at 'em. We've got more practicing to do." Harry groaned good-naturedly as he got up. He Vanished the chairs and table, and the newspapers floated over to the side of the room.

Lily started conjuring various little things and scattering them around the room. Soon rocks, a plant, a beetle, a glass of water, and a stick dotted the floor.

"For this exercise, I want you to use these things, but only after they've been transfigured. Be creative, too… Go!" She dodged to her right as a water balloon came at her from where the glass of water had been. She smiled as her son worked hard at this lesson. She was very proud of him. One day, she was sure she would be prouder still.

* * *

(Sun, 10 Mar)

Lily tried not to think about what would have been her husband's thirty-sixth birthday in ten days as she set up the traditional table with the same old picture from fifteen years ago in front of their little mirror. Harry had been such a small baby at that time, and it always surprised her how big he had grown in so little time. And just as Harry had grown, so too had the number of times they called her old friends in England. The fourth time, Remus' birthday, had been added after they had told Remus the secret three months after she and Harry had relocated to Japan. Several years ago, they had added a fifth time to call, but that was not until the 21st of May.

Harry joined her just as the mirror came to life. "Lily? Harry?"

"Hey, Uncle Sirius!" Harry said. "Is everyone there?"

"Harry, my lad. Good to hear your voice."

"Uncle Remus! Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks, Harry," the werewolf said.

"And don't forget your Aunt, now," a female voice playfully chastised him.

"Aunt Zoe!"

"How are you, Zoe?" Lily asked Sirius's wife with concern.

"Feeling fat. I know I'm half done, but it still feels like it will be forever before this child gets here."

Zoe Martin had been a Ravenclaw one year behind Sirius at Hogwarts, and she had joined St Mungo's after finishing school. Sirius worked as a professional broom tester. It was that job, or rather his injuries on the job, that had reintroduced Sirius to Zoe. Sirius had arrived at St Mungo's half-dead from an accident on an experimental broom, and Zoe had been assigned his case. By the time he left the hospital, he had a date with her, and a year later they had been married.

"Are you going to be here for his birth?" Sirius asked. There was hope in his voice, but there was also a resigned quality that assumed he would be rebuffed again.

"Perhaps…" Lily started, her voice conveying her uncertainty.

"Really?!" Sirius asked.

"Yes, maybe. It's one of the things I want to talk about with all of you." When no one said anything for a few seconds, Lily pressed forward. "I don't like what I'm seeing in the _Prophet_, although I'm sure they're not printing the worst of it."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments. "No, Lily," Sirius finally answered, "I don't think they are telling us everything, just like they haven't told us about his getting a new body last summer. You-Know-Who…"

"Sirius!" Lily growled.

"Sorry, Lily, it was just old habit," Sirius apologised. "Riddle still hasn't been publicly sighted yet. His fingerprints are everywhere, but people won't open their eyes to see. Several people have been found to be under the Imperius Curse in the Ministry. There are numerous cases of random violence and deaths, and all the victims have positions of power or influence…"

"Don't forget the Muggles," Remus said. "A lot of strange things are going on there, but the Ministry just ignores them all."

"Yeah," Harry said, "I've noticed quite a few robberies where they can't explain what happened other than money or jewels are missing."

"Exactly," Remus agreed. "Tom is hiding his tracks well, but they are there. If only the Ministry would acknowledge it and start preparing for this war before it's already lost." He sounded frustrated.

Zoe finally spoke up. "Christmas was the worst. I can't believe they discounted us so quickly."

"You mean when you had to defend the Department of Mysteries?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Remus answered. "We did prevent Tom from getting into the Department, but unfortunately he left before anyone outside of the Order could see him. I'm not sure how Albus was able to get us off the hook for that, considering how much Fudge doesn't like him right now."

"At least the Ministry acknowledged that there was a break-in," Zoe said with relief in her voice. "Now that they've posted guards, the Order doesn't have to be there all the time. You don't know how relieved that makes me feel not to have you two hiding down there watching that long hallway."

"The bottom line, Lily, is that it _is_ getting worse, but it's not as bad as the first war was at the end," Sirius said. "So is this why you're thinking of coming back? To help us stop it before it gets any worse?"

"That's part of it," Lily said. She looked at her son as she explained, "I'm also thinking that Harry needs some real experience in fighting, as well as a level of instruction that is beyond what I can teach him, at least in a few subjects."

"You're actually going to enrol him in Hogwarts?" Remus asked. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"I'm thinking about it, or at least with some conditions," Lily said with the reservation blatant in her voice.

"Do I get to tell Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, his tone completely mischievous.

"Why? You think he'll keel over or something?" Lily wondered, a grin appearing on her face, even though only Harry could see it.

"Probably. I also sort of wonder how long it will take him to realise I'm not trying to prank him." Sirius laughed. "Oh yeah, this could be a lot of fun."

"Sirius? You've got to make him give you a promise to keep our existence secret for as long as possible," Lily said. "In fact, I'd like Harry to take his OWLs there under an assumed name, and then fix his name later after he starts school."

"Right, I can do that."

"Honey, you better write it down," Zoe said with a beleaguered sigh.

There was a pause, and Lily could not help but chuckle as she guessed at the glare Sirius was shooting at his wife. A resigned, "Fine," was finally muttered through the mirror.

"Let's call him … Charles Evans," Lily finally decided. She now heard the scratching of a quill and the name repeated softly. "I'm also going to want Dumbledore to promise individual tutoring for Defence, Charms, and Transfiguration." More scratching noises were made.

"Got it. Anything else?" Sirius asked.

"No, I think that will do it for now. I may add more later. How long until you can talk to him?" Lily asked. She scribbled on a small notepad as she waited, planning out the next few months.

"I'll Floo call him tomorrow," Sirius said. "I can probably get everything set the way you want within a couple of weeks. He might need some time to see about the OWL scores and switching the name."

"Fine, same time on the 24th of this month then," Lily proposed.

"Sounds good. Everything else going well there?"

"Yeah, it's great," Harry said. "I'm starting to learn healing spells. It's pretty amazing what can be done with them."

"You mean like healing your enemies wounds?" Sirius snorted before slipping into laughter, which Remus joined a moment later.

Harry and Lily heard a light slap and a yelp from Sirius. He looked at his mother and they both chuckled. "I'll let Aunt Zoe educate you, Uncle Sirius. If you're lucky, she'll also put you back together when she's done with you." He snickered under his breath. Teasing his Uncle Sirius was one of life's little pleasures.

"Yeah, right. You can come here, midget, and practice your duelling with me. I'll show you how it's done," Sirius boasted.

"Midget?" he asked with indignation before his voice became more cheerful. "I think I'd like to. Can I, Mother? Can I?"

"Hey, wait a minute, why does he sound so happy about that?" Sirius asked as Remus howled in the background and Zoe's tinkling laughter floated above the commotion.

With her chuckles finally dying off, Lily answered him. "Because he thinks you'd be an easy target."

Sirius now had a suspicious tone. "Hey, what have you been telling him?"

"Not much," Lily said nonchalantly, "except that between you, Remus, and James, you were the easiest to beat."

"That's so not true!" Sirius said, while his friends laughed. "It's not! I always held my own and gave back better than I got," he told them indignantly.

"Right, you just keep thinking that, Sirius," Remus assured his friend before he started laughing again.

Lily and Harry heard a noise and some arguing, but it was indistinct.

An exasperated sigh came through the mirror. "Lily?" Zoe's voice called out. "I guess this is the end until the call in two weeks. Those two are on the floor wrestling, if you can believe that. I swear, he's never going to grow up."

Lily laughed, and Harry fought to keep his mirth quiet. "Just hang on a little while longer, Zoe. My husband changed almost overnight when Harry was born. I know Sirius matured a little after your first, and I suspect he'll mature more after this new one comes."

"I hope you're right, Lily," came the wistful reply. "I really hope you're right."

"Take care, Zoe, and tell those two prats we'll talk in two weeks."

"You two take care, too. I'll make sure Sirius calls Dumbledore tomorrow. Bye."

"Good-night."

"Bye Aunt Zoe!" Harry looked at his mother as she ended the call on their side. "What about my school here? The new school year begins in April."

"I know," she told him. She got up and began putting the magic mirror away while Harry Vanished the conjured sheet. "At this time, I believe I'll pull you out after you finish your exams in a few weeks. I'll tell them we're about to take an extended trip to visit ancestors that I recently found and you'll finish school there. In the couple of months before you leave, you can concentrate on studying for your OWLs."

"Yes!" Harry hissed.

"I'll pick up your book list from school so you can look over next year's material even if you aren't attending that school," she told him, barely keeping in a smile.

"Aww, Mum. I like going to school to see my friends, but doing classes for both normal school and Magical school is really tedious."

As Lily finished cleaning up, she looked at her son with no sympathy at all. "Life is not fair, Harry. If it was, we'd still have your father, and we'd all be in England enjoying ourselves. Now, don't you have some final projects due soon?"

Harry's stomach twisted in guilt for reminding his mother about his missing father. He contritely answered, "Yes, Mother. I should finish my research essay on '_Economics in the Asian Region'_ today." Harry went over to the computer and turned it on.

While he waited for it to boot, he drummed his fingers impatiently. He had a lot going on, but he was able to handle it all, barely. Despite what his mother threatened him with a few minutes ago, he was sure she would lower the priority on his normal school work if he were not enrolled in those classes. On the other hand, she would probably push harder on his Wizarding studies. He was not worried too much about his OWLs. He could have taken them a year ago and done quite well. He was doing NEWT level work in all of his subjects, although he had just started that level in a few of them.

There was also the issue of his friends and "family" to consider, mostly Aki and Suki.

Aki was his best friend, or his best mate if Harry understood English slang correctly. They did practically everything together. They attended classes together, and they also spent most of Harry's free time together after school. One of their favourite activities was riding Aki's motorcycle through the woods and exploring together. That was bending the law slightly, but they did their best to stay off the roads to avoid trouble.

He knew he would miss Suki too. She was his only magical friend, her family being the only other Wizarding family in the village. They had tried being boyfriend and girlfriend for a short while about a year ago, but they had decided they were better off as just good friends.

Her parents were nice and very helpful. They had been teaching Harry and his mother the Japanese view of magic for the last couple of years. It was different from the magic his mother taught him. The Japanese way seemed to be both weaker and yet more powerful, sort of like the Aikido he had recently started. The dichotomy in both the magic and the sport fascinated him.

There were times when Harry could lose himself in his Aikido sessions. The flowing, graceful power was very peaceful. It was a calming state of mind, much like his Occlumency. The practice of Aikido felt so like magic at times that he wondered if the original Sensei was a wizard.

Then there was "Ojii", or Kabata-san as most people knew him. Harry loved his old neighbour like a grandfather, and despite the man's quarrelsome nature, Harry knew the old man loved him. He assumed it was because Ojii's children rarely visited him so he viewed Harry as his own grandson, but the older man had never said anything directly. Nor would Harry would ever ask.

Lastly, Harry would miss O-Sensei. His karate master was getting quite old, but he was as wise and gentle as he was exacting. Harry was worked hard in training sessions, but afterwards, he would sometimes also have tea with his master and do small projects for him. Harry wondered if O-Sensei did this because Harry had no father, but he did not know. To Harry, O-Sensei was his revered grandfather, much like Ojii.

He would definitely miss his friends and honorary family here. With a sigh, Harry started working on his school report, hoping to finish it that day with enough time left over to go see Aki. Maybe they could ride his friend's motorbike through the woods for a while. If not, maybe he could go flying this evening after it got dark.

* * *

(Sun, 24 Mar)

Lily brought out her mirror and set up the table and tableau as usual.

"Lily?"

"Sirius? You're early." The man was almost never on time.

"Yep. Hey, kiddo, it's just me and Remus this time. Zoe's feeling really tired and she has a shift at St Mungo's tomorrow."

"You have some broom tests coming up tomorrow, too, don't you?" Lily asked.

Lily could easily guess that they were rolling their eyes on the other side of the mirror in the pause. "Yes," he finally drawled. "Are you done teasing me now? Or shall I just hang up and not tell you what I found out?"

"Uncle Sirius! You have to tell me!" Harry spoke up eagerly.

"Well, for you, kiddo, I will. Now if someone else can keep quiet…"

Lily huffed. "Fine. So tell us, Padfoot, what did the would-be wise one say?"

At that, Sirius laughed. "You really should have been there, Lily. I met with our esteemed Headmaster a couple of days after our last call. Fortunately, it wasn't hard to get him to promise to keep the conversation confidential. He was as twinkly as ever, at least until I told him that I was there on behalf of you. When he crooked his bushy eyebrow at me, I told him that you, Lily Potter, wanted to bring Harry Potter to take his OWLs in June. For a minute, I thought he was going to have a stroke or maybe a heart attack he went so pale."

"You really need to see the memory, Lily," Remus said. "His re-telling does not do it proper justice."

A laugh escaped Lily. "I shall hold you to that."

"You can borrow my family Pensieve for it," Sirius said. "Anyway, after he initially recovered, it took me nearly ten minutes and an oath to convince him that I wasn't trying to prank him. Then he got the strangest look on his face before he started laughing. All he would say was, 'Tom's going to love this.'"

Lily could not contain her laughter. "Yes, I'm sure Voldemort will have a conniption when he finds out Harry is alive. What did Albus say to my demands?"

"Surprisingly, or at least to me, he said yes to every single one with almost no thought. No matter what I asked, I could not get him to elaborate," Sirius said.

"He's probably starting to weave some elaborate scheme to do Tom in," Remus said.

"No doubt," Lily agreed. "But he did agree to the basic plan, and we can take care of things from there as long as he cooperates."

"Yes!" Sirius shouted. "The Marauders will ride again!"

Lily just looked at her son and slowly shook her head in disbelief. Harry grinned at her. Looking at the backside of the mirror, she tried to finish up. "I guess we'll be seeing you in June, then. We can work out details during our May call."

"Sounds good. Albus said you should come the night before OWLs start. He'll be sending me some more details with an owl later. It'll be so good to see you two again." The grin in Sirius's voice was obvious.

"It'll be good to see you two reprobates again, too, as well as to see Zoe. You take care of her, Sirius," Lily encouraged him.

"I will, Lily; I promise," he told her fervently.

"It will be good see you, too, Lily," Remus chimed in.

"And you, Moony," she softly said.

"Yeah, I'll get to go to England finally!" Harry shouted. The adults all laughed as they said their good-byes.

* * *

(Sun, 5 Jun)

"Ready?" Lily Potter asked her son. He looked ready, but it was always best to ask a travelling partner.

Harry shrunk his trunk down and stuck the walnut-sized box in his pocket. His mother already had her shrunken trunk in her pocket. "Ready," he said with an easy grin. He grabbed the end of the quill she was holding.

Despite his grin, Lily saw the worry in his eyes and the tense set of his shoulders. It was not easy to leave the familiar for the unknown. She was proud of her little boy. No, she amended as took a good look at him; he was a young man now. He stood slightly taller than her and was almost the spitting image of his father. Now that he was older, the similarity always gave her a faint pang, but she was mostly used to it now. Sometimes it was particularly strong, like now as they prepared to do something new and big, and at those times she wondered if she would ever really get over the pain of losing James. To make matters slightly worse this time, she was about to run into two more reminders of her husband.

With her free hand, she pulled her wand out and touched it to the middle of the quill. "To Padfoot!" Harry felt the pull behind his navel, and the Portkey whisked them away in a swirl of colour.

After what seemed like at least half a minute, they landed on the front porch of an old, stately house. The house stood out like a flower amongst the wizened and decrepit town-homes that gathered about it like weeds. The door had "#12" on it, and the lion-headed knocker Sirius had mentioned eyed them warily. His mother reached up and used the knocker to announce their presence.

Scarcely had the knocker stilled than the door was yanked open to reveal a man with long dark brown hair pulled back into a pony-tail, grinning at them like there was no tomorrow. The man had the refined features of the younger man that had stood next to Harry's father in the countless pictures his mother had shown him. It could only be his Uncle Sirius.

"Lily!" The exuberant voice echoed down the street, and Sirius engulfed his mother in a hug.

"Sirius…" she wheezed, unable to say more because of his strong arms around her.

Sirius finally let her go so she could inhale, but he did not apologise. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Merlin, it's just so good to see you again after all this time." Lily did not say anything, and Harry assumed she was caught up in the moment. The goofy grin stayed on Sirius's face as he turned to the young man

"Who else could you be but Harry!" Sirius stepped forward and gave him a hug, too. Harry stiffened slightly at the overly familiar contact, but returned it after catching his mother's nod. He had no memories of this man beyond their mirror conversations, just photos and stories from his mother. "You've grown so much since you were the toddler I last saw. Come in, both of you!" Sirius closed the door and started walking towards a doorway. "This way!" He bounced with each step like an excited child at Christmas.

Harry looked at his mother for guidance, but she just smiled and followed their host. Her eyes glistened in the flickering light of the hallway, but Harry was unsure whether that was from the reunion or old memories.

The house was definitely a lot bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside. Magic made such fun things possible, Harry mused. It was very stately, with lots of intricate woodwork and nice furnishings. The décor was a balance of formal and comfortable. The Blacks were an old Pureblood family, which accounted for the formality. Harry assumed Aunt Zoe had made it comfortable.

Soon they were in the sitting room, where they found another man with light brown hair peppered with grey. Based on his mother's photos, this was his other honorary uncle.

Across from him, sitting in a comfortable lounge chair, were a very pregnant woman with dark blonde hair and a little boy with dark brown hair who was worming his way into the woman's lap despite her best attempts at stopping him

Harry could only assume she was his Aunt Zoe.

"Lily!" Remus jumped to his feet and quickly strode over to give her a hug, too, which his mother returned. They held each other for slightly longer than Sirius had hugged her.

"Remus, it's so good to see you again," she told him in a voice chocked with emotion. "I'm sorry it's been so long…" She wiped at her eyes and then smiled at everyone in the room.

"Lily, no need to apologise." Remus struggled with his emotions, too, before he turned to Harry. "And Harry, I'm sure you don't remember me personally, but I have enjoyed getting the chance to talk to you over the years." He walked over to Harry, who stiffened slightly. There was a moment of hesitation and then understanding in Remus gray eyes. He smiled and clapped Harry on the shoulder. "You remind me of your father so much." The man's voice was easily recognisable.

"Uncle Remus, it's nice to finally meet you." Harry turned to the woman. "I am Harry Potter; you must be Aunt Zoe." He walked over to where she was sitting and gave a slight bow. "Thank you for allowing us to intrude on your home." Harry reached into his robe and pulled out a small box. Tapping it with his wand, it grew to its normal size before he handed it to her.

"Thank you, Harry. It's so good to meet you. Ooh, Swiss chocolate," Zoe smiled at him after she looked at the box. "You didn't need to do this, but the thought is appreciated. There really is no need to be so formal," Zoe said. Putting words into actions, she pulled Harry down into a warm hug. "I've been waiting for you to come, as has Sirius." They both looked over to the beaming godfather. The woman looked over to his mother. "Lily, it's so good to see you again. I'm sorry for not getting up…"

"Zoe," Lily walked over and gave her old school acquaintance a hug. "Don't worry about it. I understand -- completely. You have what? One more month?"

"Yes," she said with a hint of exasperation as she rubbed her swollen stomach. "Time is dragging terribly."

"And yet, you'll be very happy when the baby finally arrives, I'm sure," Lily encouraged her.

"Lastly," Zoe now did her best to move the squirming child in front of her. "This is James Remus Black -- our eldest," she announced proudly. "He's three years old."

"I'm almost four!" The boy stood up straight and puffed out his chest.

Harry looked at his godfather, who glowed with pride, and Harry had to suppress a laugh. Leaning down again, he stuck out his hand. "Hello, I'm Harry, your cousin. It's is nice to meet you, James."

With only a little prompting from his father, the boy finally managed to shyly say, "Hello," before he hid behind his father's legs. Lily waved at him, which caused the boy to wrap himself in his father's robes. The others all chuckled.

Zoe looked at her husband. "Sirius? Please play host." She looked at him expectantly.

He looked lost for a second before he brightened. "Oh, right! I'll get the tea." Sirius extracted himself from his son, who ran to Remus, so he could get the refreshments. Sirius turned back to the group. "Would anyone like something to eat? Dinner will be in about two hours if anyone is interested."

Harry shyly raised his hand. It had been over six hours since he had had dinner at home, and he was starving. Fortunately, he had also had a nap earlier that evening and was wide awake. Travelling nine time zones in less than a minute had its hazards.

When Sirius returned with the tea, the group settled into chairs, and Lily became all business. "Sirius, did you make arrangements for a little trip tonight?"

The old marauder gave a wicked grin. "Yes -- I -- did." He emphasised each word before he started laughing. When he managed to contain himself, he explained. "My cousin, actually my cousin once removed, Nymphadora Tonks, arranged to have guard duty tonight. Our old friends will come and join us, too, and we can have a bit of a party to secure ourselves a little more."

"Excellent, Sirius, thank you," Lily said and then returned Sirius' smile with one that put his to shame. "I have a wonderful prank for all of you."

--

After the late dinner, the adults conscripted Harry for washing-up duty while his mother and the rest retired to the living room. He assumed they wanted some privacy and deferred to his mother's request. If anything important was discussed, he knew that she would eventually tell him. It only took a few spells to send all the dirty dishes through the washing cycle and then float the dishes over to the drying rack. Once complete, he returned to the living room, where he rejoined them as if he had never left.

All three adult residents were speaking quietly as he entered, and his mother pointed to a chair near her, so Harry took a seat and joined the conversation. The next couple of hours were spent discussing the news in England. Harry found few surprises from the assumptions his mother and he had made from various news sources. However, the different perspective of Remus, Zoe, and Sirius cleared up several questions.

Shortly before the clock struck midnight, the fireplace flared, and green flames burst to life. Harry reached for his wand, but none of the adults even blinked in concern. Figuring that they had discussed a visitor while he was washing up, Harry left his wand hidden but kept his hand nearby.

A couple stepped out of the fireplace. The man had a kind face with brown hair and brown eyes. The woman was a pretty, round-faced woman that reminded Harry of his own mother. Although the woman appeared to be a few years younger than the man, both were near his mother's age. Surprisingly, Harry recognised them. Although they were older now, they were not much different from the pictures his mother had shown him. Unfortunately, he could not remember their names. Harry's surprise quickly vanished, but the couple were struck dumb as they stared at him and his mother. He heard his mother say something from his left, but he did not move his gaze from the visitors.

"Lily?" the woman asked, her hand covering her mouth. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. She took a step forward. "Is it really you? This isn't some joke?" She glanced at Sirius and then Zoe, who shook her head.

Lily stood up and smiled. "It's me, Alice. Really." Harry nodded in understanding and relaxed. The woman was Alice Longbottom, an old friend of his mother, and the man would be her husband, Frank. They were the parents of the _other one._

With a sob, Alice raced past her husband and to her old friend, who stood to meet her. "Lily," she finally said again after a sniffle, tears were starting to come down her face. "I can't believe you're alive and you didn't let us know."

"I'm so very sorry, Alice. I've really missed you," Lily said. Tears glistened on her face, too. "But after what happened, we had to go deeper into hiding and not tell anyone. You know how it was then."

"I do," Alice agreed as she pulled back. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alive and back, although a part of me thinks I must be dreaming this. We have so much to catch up on." She finally let go of her friend.

The woman's husband slowly came over and gathered Lily into a hug after Alice released her. Harry could only watch and wonder at why the Longbottoms were here and why his mother had brought her old friends into the secret of them being back. He supposed the prophecy had brought them together. In thinking some more, he suddenly remembered back to their May "call" and Uncle Sirius mentioning needing the help of their most trusted friends and his mother agreeing. This must be them he reasoned.

He watched Alice turn to him as her husband hugged his mother and spoke a few quiet words to her. To Harry's surprise, the woman grabbed his shoulders and looked him up and down for a moment before she pulled him in for a hug. He stifled his immediate desire to pull back. Could she not have asked first?

"Hello, Harry," Alice said. "I'm sure you don't remember me, but I'm Alice Longbottom. I'm your godmother." She released him and held him at arm's length as she studied him some more. She shook her head slightly in wonder. "My, it's so good to see you again, Harry." Harry was stunned that his mother had never told him about this relationship. He looked at her for an explanation, but she was busy talking with Frank. With a sigh, Harry decided to ask her later.

As Alice released him, the man held out his hand. "Harry, I'm Frank Longbottom. It's nice to see you again. You definitely are _not_ the young one I remember," he said with a nostalgic smile. "You look so much like James did..."

"But with Lily's eyes," Alice interrupted. "Frank is right, you've turned into a fine looking young man, just like your dad."

Harry glanced at his mother, looking for help, but she had a far away look and a sad smile. He could easily guess why. "Thank you. I've seen pictures of both of you, but they were from shortly after my parents' wedding."

Alice laughed. "Oh yes, we were so much younger then." She turned and crossed her arms in front of her. "Sirius Black! I can't believe that you didn't tell me that my godson was still alive!" She was not quite yelling, but it was obvious she was irate.

Sirius held up his hands, "Alice, I couldn't... You don't understand…" he tried to explain, remorse clearly written on his face.

"He's right," Lily said, coming to Sirius's rescue. "He took an oath to keep my secret, so he literally couldn't tell you. I'm really and truly sorry, Alice. After what happened to us, I took as few chances as possible. Even Albus only found out about our existence about three months ago."

Alice Longbottom scowled at her old friend and then at Harry's godfather. The distasteful look finally dissolved into acceptance. "I do understand." She looked at Lily. "Did you hear about what happened to us?"

"You mean about the Lestranges and Crouch Jr coming after your family?" Frank and Alice both nodded and their expressions darkened. "I'm sorry to say it, but that was another reason why we didn't tell anyone who didn't need to know. It took me a couple of months to decide to tell Remus, and Zoe didn't find out until after she had been married to this old dog," she pointed at Sirius, "for nearly a year."

"I couldn't decide whether to hit him for not telling me something like that, or be proud of him for protecting his friends," Zoe said with a teasing smile on her face as she looked at her husband.

"So, you're back, and it's time to start taking the initiative?" Frank asked.

"Yes. I think it's time," Lily said. For a moment, she studied her two friends before setting her jaw as she came to some decision. "Frank, Alice, I know that on some official scorecard somewhere, Albus is our leader, but there are some things I'm not willing to leave to him. He has a good heart, perhaps too good; I don't trust him to do everything that needs to be done."

"I'm not sure I understand. We got the…" Frank paused and glanced at Harry. "…the old crowd back together days after His return. With the Ministry being obstinate, though, we've got our hands tied."

"So Albus has you just watching and waiting, doesn't he?" Lily asked. "You're all just waiting for Voldemort to make the first move, letting him take the initiative, aren't you?"

"What else are we supposed to do?" Alice asked. "We can't go out and just attack him. We need him to show himself first."

Lily stared at Frank and Alice, her gaze unwavering.

"You can't be serious. We don't even know where he is, or who all the Death Eaters are," Frank said.

"Then find them."

"How?"

Lily flung up her hands. "This is what I mean. You're doing nothing while Voldemort is building his forces up and amassing a war chest from stolen jewellery and probably other crimes. How hard would it be to send a few Order members to every jewellery shop in the country and put tracking spells on the valuables? Or to ward the doors to detect magic and alert you?"

"It's illegal to do that, Lily," Remus said. "We have to be careful."

Lily spun on Remus, and he shrank from the anger in her eyes. "And when he shows up to kill you, do you think he or any of his sadistic followers will care what is legal?"

"We can't become what we are fighting," Frank said.

"That's Albus talking," Lily said. "And if you keep following his path, you will all be dead. This is a war and you cannot fight a war without using your weapons."

"That's not fair, Lily," Remus said.

"No, it's not," Lily said. "But life isn't fair. War isn't fair. If the generation before us had done the right thing, Voldemort would have been taken care of while he was still a minor problem. If we had taken the offensive and dealt with Voldemort the first time around instead of hiding and watching, we wouldn't be here today having this conversation. And I wouldn't have to be worried about my son's future. We _will_ take care of this so that Harry's children won't have to deal with it."

Harry sank deeper into his chair, willing himself to remain completely still. Everyone seemed to have ignored him after the greeting, and he hoped they would continue to do so while he listened. For the moment, he only moved his eyes between the three main participants. His mother, who burned hot with her fervour, was caught up in her words, almost oblivious to those around her. His godmother stared at his mother as if trying to determine who this person was while at the same time leaning forward, captivated by the debate. Frank Longbottom was slowly nodding, his face screwed up in thought. And then, like the sun from behind a cloud, he found his answer.

"You don't think Dumbledore will make the really difficult choices, do you?" Frank asked.

"No, I don't." Lily turned to Alice. "What has Albus done to help Neville?"

Alice looked sharply at her. "But … he doesn't have to do _that_!"

"Not anymore," Lily said, "but Albus has known about this for fifteen years now and only known about my survival for three months. Other than putting us both into hiding when the search got too close, what has he done with the warning?" Alice remained silent. "I'm sure he's been working behind the scenes trying to get people to put their differences aside and to work together. That's admirable, really, but you and I both know it won't be enough. What has he done for the boy he knew about? I've been training Harry for most of his life. What has Albus done for Neville?"

The silence hung in the air as Lily stared at her friend. Harry shifted uncomfortably. He could feel the precarious weight of this moment, and it was as if his mother knew that it was up to Alice Longbottom. Sirius, Remus, and Zoe watched the episode play out with great interest. Harry knew they did not know the prophecy. Lily had explained there was one but that they were all safer not knowing what it said. Everyone stared at Alice as she worked through the blunt question with her eyes closed.

And then, with the agonising speed of the first crack on an icy lake, a tear slid down her cheek and she shook her head. "Nothing," Alice said in a choked whisper. "Absolutely nothing." There was a hint of anger in her voice as she opened her watery eyes and looked at her friend. "Frank's done it all. He's been the only person to try to make a difference. He worked with Neville for the year before Hogwarts, and he's continued during the summers. Even I haven't done much other than try to bolster his confidence. Last summer was the worst, after that wretched Tournament. I just…" her voice broke. She took a deep breath. "I just didn't want to believe it was him, my Neville. I'm so sorry, Lily…"

Lily walked over to her friend and enveloped her in a hug. Although she whispered, the room was so quiet that everyone still heard. "It's all right, Alice. It's really all right. I'm not happy about it all either, but I've learned to deal with it. If it's within my power to make it so, Harry _will_ survive and defeat Voldemort," she said fiercely.

"Damn right he will," Sirius said. "My godson is the best, and he'll accomplish the task." When Alice looked at him, he told her, "I don't know what the prophecy says, Alice, but I do know there is one. Given that, it's not hard to figure out that it talks about someone being able to kill You-Know-Who…"

"Sirius!" Lily barked.

"Sorry." He hung his head in submission, but his eyes glittered as he watched Lily. With a long-suffering sigh, Lily just shook her head, and Sirius bounced back. "But I'm sure that Harry will kill Tom Riddle, and he'll go on to give us lots of little ones for me to spoil." That got several chuckles, and Harry knew his face was red. "And I'll be there for him every step of the way, no matter what it takes." Remus and Zoe nodded their agreement.

Still encircled in Lily's arms, Alice patted Lily's arm and said, "All right, Lily, we'll follow your lead, wherever it takes us."

Lily tightened her hug and pressed her cheek to Alice's. grin spread across Lily's face. "Then let's take care of it. Do you have the orb I asked for?"

Frank reached into his robes and pulled out a glass ball that fit nicely into the palm of his hand. He handed it over to Lily. She turned to Harry.

"Harry, we need to send a message to someone. We're going to replace the prophecy at the Ministry with this one. Hopefully, we'll deny that monster this knowledge, because knowledge is power." A look of amusement came over her. "Do you want to make up the message to the Dork Lord, or shall I?"

Harry snickered. His mother often made up derogatory names for Voldemort. Harry always enjoyed it because it was one of the few humorous things she did. He paused for a moment before he smiled at her. "How about: Thank you for calling, but the prophecy you wish to hear is no longer in service. Please call the Minister for Magic for more information."

Sirius, Remus, Zoe, and Lily burst into laughter. Frank and Alice shrugged their shoulders, although they did look amused.

"I assume that's a joke of some kind?" Frank asked.

Remus finished laughing first. "It's a parody of what you get told when you make a Muggle telephone call to a number that's not working anymore."

"I remember being at Moony's one day when he tried to teach me how to use a telephone. I dialled the wrong number, and he let me listen to that message," Sirius said with a big grin on his face. "May I supply the memory, Lily?"

Her smile did not fade, and she handed the orb to Harry. "You may, but we need to disguise it first. It would be very bad for us if Tom knew who did this."

Harry grinned. "I have an idea, Mother. May I?" She nodded. "Uncle Sirius, do you have some old _Daily Prophets_?"

Shrugging, Sirius went over to a stack of newspapers near the fireplace and brought them back. Harry dug through them until he found one he liked. With his wand, he cut out the large picture of Fudge from the front page and used a Sticking Charm to attach it to a blank wall. "Can anyone do a good impersonation of Fudge?"

"That would be me," Sirius said with a bow. "I ask," he said in a very different voice, "what are your plans, young man? I must know because I am the Minister for Magic." He looked around as he asked, "How was that, everyone?"

"Decent," Remus commented, "but I think the voice needs to be slightly higher."

"Excellent. Now use that voice and my words while I focus on the picture, Uncle Sirius," Harry instructed. Sirius did so, and Harry was very careful to look only at the picture and listen to the voice. When Sirius finished, Harry put his wand to his temple and extracted the brief memory. His mother cast the acceptance charm on the orb. He placed the joke memory on the orb and everyone watched the silvery film sink into it.

"Don't drop that, Harry, and don't let it touch anyone else, either," his mother told him. He nodded. "Very well, who's going?" Everyone but Zoe moved over to the fireplace.

"Give me thirty seconds," Frank told them, "then everyone should go to 'Auror Head Office.' Say it just like that. Don't dilly-dally either, as you'll only one minute for everyone to come through." Taking a pinch of Floo Powder, he muttered a secret phrase as he threw the powder in, and then he left. The green flames stayed lit.

Lily placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, you're last, and count to five after the last person before you enter." He nodded.

When the thirty seconds were up, Lily went first, then Sirius, Alice, Remus, and finally Harry. The Floo deposited him in a good-sized room filled with desks. The room had a number of doors around the edge, which Harry assumed led to offices.

"This way, quickly and quietly," Frank commanded in a low voice, pointing at one door. "I've sent my friend on an errand in the other direction." He pulled his wand out, and everyone followed suit. They quickly made their way down to level nine, which the voice in the elevator announced as the Department of Mysteries. He continued to lead them down a long and fairly dark hallway to a round room whose doors spun around in a circle. Frank opened one of the doors and led them into the Hall of Prophecies. The room was massive, with endless rows of shelves disappearing into the dim reaches of the room.

Harry was surprised that they had not run into anyone else there, not even the janitor, but then he also wondered how long this little errand had been planned. His mother's friends moved with purpose and without hesitation. He and his mother followed, and she appeared at ease and confident.

Frank stopped and waited for everyone at row ninety-seven. When Harry arrived, he saw a young witch who had not come with them. She wore an Auror's robe and had hair as short as his was, except hers was pink.

"Lily? Harry? Meet one of my cousins, Nymphadora Tonks," Sirius introduced them.

"Sirius!" she hissed as she lightly backhanded him a swat to his shoulder. "I swear, if this room wasn't filled with so many breakables, I'd hex you into next week." Turning to the Potters, she held out her hand. "The name is Tonks, just Tonks, and it's nice to meet you."

Lily nodded. "Same here. I assume you're on guard duty tonight?"

"Yeah, even though Frank's been on leave to teach at Hogwarts, I don't mind doing this for him, especially since he should be my boss. You are returning soon, aren't you?" Tonks asked.

"We'll see," Frank told her noncommittally. "I should return for my second year of teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, but who knows what will happen."

Tonks shook her head as she turned to Harry and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Harry."

"You, too," Harry said. She had a nice smile, and Harry liked her easy-going and fun personality. "Ah, could we get going on this? I don't think we're really supposed to be found here, are we?"

There were several chuckles, including one from Tonks. "No, you're not, but the spot you want is right there." She pointed to a shelf about knee high.

There Harry saw a duplicate of the orb in his hand. Under it was the inscription:

_S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.  
Dark Lord  
and (?)Neville Longbottom_

"Pick up the orb, Harry. Then put the new one on the shelf," his mother instructed him.

"Wait!" Tonks called out before Harry could touch the glass ball on the shelf. "You do know how these things work, don't you? Harry's name isn't on it, so he could go insane by picking it up."

Lily gave her a patient smile. "While you have the correct theory, that doesn't apply here because the orb is mislabelled. It may have Neville's name on it, but the prophecy is about Harry. Harry can pick it up. Neville should not try as it would be dangerous for him."

Tonks looked at her with doubt in her eyes for a few seconds before she shrugged. "If you say so, but I wouldn't touch it if I were him."

Trusting his mother, Harry put away his wand and did the switch. He now held a dusty orb in his hand. "You'll need to put dust on the new one, Mother."

Lily smiled at her son. "Good observation, Harry." With a flick of her wand and a couple of muttered spells, the orb on the shelf was cleaned of fingerprints and then gained a light layer of dust. With that task complete, she laid her hand on the orb in Harry's hand and tapped her wand on the glass.

A woman's voice spoke in Harry's head. It was deep and gravelly or maybe hoarse.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...  
Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...  
And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...  
And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...  
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._"

He saw his mother nod. She had obviously heard the voice in her head, too.

"Yes, that's the true prophecy. Let me have the orb please, Harry." He removed his hand. Holding the orb on the tips of three fingertips, she cast, "_Evanesco_!", and it disappeared forever. They all looked at the nothingness for a second, each contemplating what the prophecy meant to them.

Frank broke the silence. "We need to go now." Lily nodded and they all quickly and quietly retraced their steps, leaving Auror Tonks to guard the Hall of Prophecies. At the end of their journey through the Ministry of Magic, Frank sent the other guard and his friend on another errand, and they used the Floo to return to Sirius's house, having been seen only by Tonks.

Zoe looked relieved to see them all safe and sound. "Did it go as planned?"

"Yes, dear," Sirius said, "and it appears that no one's any the wiser. If Riddle does get that orb, I do wish I could see his face when he hears it." They all chuckled at that.

"We need to go, dear," Alice told her husband before she turned to Lily and pulled her into a quick hug. "I'm so glad you're back." She also gave Harry a quick hug. "You too, dear. I think you'll like our son, Neville."

"I hope so," her husband added. "You and Neville have a lot in common. I'll also work him very hard to be ready for anything. He won't be the only target now. I expect that Voldemort will come after you both."

"Hopefully, we can use that to our advantage," Lily suggested, getting nods all around. "Also, please don't tell Neville about us just yet. We're trying to keep our presence a secret until the first of September. I'm hoping that Harry being in Hogwarts will keep him safe enough."

"As you wish, Lily," Frank said. "I'll just tell him the night before that he should look for a new friend. What are you going to do, Lily?"

"We'll be here, and we'll continue to train. This autumn, I'll rent a small house in Hogsmeade so I can be close to the school. I'll probably split my time between here and there." Lily looked thoughtful for a moment longer. "I also think that I won't rejoin the Order until September."

"Sure, that makes sense." Frank turned to his wife. "Ready, dear?"

"When can we get together, Lily?" Alice asked. "We really do have a lot to catch up on."

"I know," Lily agreed with a smile. "Harry is about to take his OWLs, and I'll have a little free time then. How about I call you, and we'll get together?"

"Sure, that sounds nice," Alice said as her husband started gently pulling her towards the fireplace. Everyone said good-bye to the couple, and then they were gone.

Realising the evening was over, Harry stood and made his good-nights before he went to his mother.

"Sleep in late tomorrow, Harry," she told him. "I'll let you take tomorrow off to rest from our long day. We'll get back to work on Thursday. I'm very proud of you." She gave him a smile and hugged him.

Harry squeezed her hard around the waist for a brief second, returning her feelings. "I love you, Mother."

"I love you, too, Harry. Now run on up to bed and I'll see you tomorrow." She patted him on the back and sent him on his way to the bedroom Zoe had made up for him.

Harry left the room with a spring in his step. He was very pleased to have made his first contribution to ending the war, even if it would not be discovered for a while.

* * *

(Thu, 6 Jun)

Harry awoke late the next morning. It took him a few seconds before he remembered he was not at "home" anymore. The first clue was that he was not sleeping on his futon. A glance around the room reinforced the notion that he was no longer in Japan.

Getting up, he quickly got dressed and headed for the bathroom. Here was his second big clue of the morning. As he had found yesterday, the bathrooms were very different here. They were large and not designed to be totally wet. Also, there were no bathroom slippers -- that was just wrong. Still, he took care of his needs and went downstairs to find breakfast.

As he walked downstairs, Harry noticed that he felt refreshed, despite the time change from his travel and his late night the evening before. He found his mother helping Aunt Zoe fix breakfast. She turned and smiled at him as he entered.

"Good morning, Harry. Hungry?"

"Yes, Mother, thank you." He called out cheerfully, "Morning, Aunt Zoe!"

"Good morning, Harry. Did you sleep well?" Aunt Zoe asked.

"Yes, thank you. You're home is very comfortable, Aunt Zoe. Where's Cousin James? I thought I heard him earlier."

The pregnant woman smiled at him before she waved her wand over some bread and it became toast. Lily grabbed the toast and added it to the two plates in front of her. "He's up in his room playing."

Instead of the traditional rice and miso soup for breakfast, his mother put a full plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him before she sat down beside him with her own plate. His eyes widened at the amount of food on the plate. He was no stranger to English breakfast foods, as their American versions were popular in Japan, but the spread of food before him was much more than even the "full English breakfast" his mother made once a week at home.

From a young age, his mother had stressed the importance of his British heritage and had taken steps to expose him to it. In addition to the nightly chats in English and the BBC broadcasts, at least once a week they would also have typical English food for lunch and supper, as well as in-between foods. Although some English foods left his stomach roiling from the heavy flavour, a few had become signature dishes in his mother's home.

Harry picked up the cup of tea in front of him and smelled its aroma before he took a sip and shrugged mentally. He really preferred green teas over black teas, but he could deal with this. At least his mother had known not to add anything to it, unlike Aunt Zoe who was adding milk and sugar to her tea. That was just weird.

Zoe placed her cup of tea on the table and carefully lowered herself into a chair. "I will be so glad to get this baby out of me. I'm happy that Sirius hasn't followed Pureblood traditions and stopped after the first boy, but this may be our last." She gingerly rubbed her swollen belly.

"Harry wasn't too difficult, but I do understand the discomfort," Lily agreed with a slight smile. When nothing beyond a murmur was given, Lily changed topics. "Zoe? I know that Sirius said we could use a room in the basement for schoolwork over the summer, but do you also have an extra bedroom or other place we can use as a classroom? It's difficult to have practical duels when you're worrying about potion equipment, desks, and books."

A smile graced Zoe's face. "You don't ever stop, do you?"

Lily smiled back, but it was slightly forced. "No, because stopping implies we're done, and we're not. Nor will we be for some time."

Zoe's expression changed from friendly to more serious. "There's more to life than this war, Lily. You're not responsible for winning the war. We're all willing to help, but it's not up to us to lead."

"Then whose job is it?"

Harry knew his mother's question, while asked in a casual tone of voice, was anything but casual. Aunt Zoe had inadvertently pressed one of his mother's hot buttons.

His mother became more passionate. "It certainly isn't the Ministry's. They won't even acknowledge that Voldemort's returned even when it's one of their Senior Aurors and the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot telling them. They do their best to make Dumbledore look like a fool. And don't tell me it's Dumbledore's responsibility, either. I'm glad he's on our side, but his time and his war were fifty years ago. You three said last night that Dumbledore and the Order have done almost nothing to make Voldemort visible, much less bring him down. So if it's not 'us' and 'our generation', who _is_ going to do it? It's bad enough that Harry's generation is going to have to fight. Do you want your children to have to fight in this war, too?"

Zoe said nothing, and the silence lingered as Lily stared at her friend. Harry was well aware of how disconcerting Lily's stares could be. He almost felt sorry for Aunt Zoe, but his mother was right. Finally, Zoe looked away and picked up her tea. "The bedroom across the hall from yours, Lily, is available. Just shrink the furniture down and put it up in the attic. If you find anything in the attic you need, feel free to move it down. Please keep the door locked so James doesn't get into it. There's an expanded storage room in the basement ready for you, too. Sirius and Remus cleaned it out last week. You can get to it from the back stairs."

After a moment, Lily gave her an accepting smile. "Thank you, Zoe. I'm sorry I was hard on you, as I know you're on board, but I get so frustrated with how people react sometimes. Everyone wants to stick their heads in the sand and try to ignore the elephant in the room."

Zoe nodded in understanding in spite of the mixed metaphors, as she was Muggle-born. "You're right, Lily, you really are. I guess I just get pulled down to the common level sometimes. Even the people I work with at St Mungo's don't care most of the time, which is really moronic when you think about it. Because if, or when, You-Know-Who really gets active again, we're going to have a lot of work we don't want as we try to fix hurt people."

With a nod, Lily accepted her statement for what it was and did not argue any more. She looked at Harry. "Finish up there, Harry. Even though it's an easy day, we still have other work to do."

Harry quickly finished, and then he and his mother went up to see about their new classroom. They emptied out the room and took a box of doll-sized furniture up to the attic and re-enlarged it before storing it. They uncovered a couple of chairs and small tables, as well as some bookcases, and took them all back down. After resizing the tables to be big enough to make a comfortable worktable, they filled the bookcases with books from their trunks and pulled out their potion making equipment. It was mid-afternoon by the time they were happy with the setup of the classroom.

After a light lunch, the Potters went down the back stairs to the auxiliary basement. Harry saw that it was square and almost fifteen meters on a side. There were two wooden support posts spaced evenly down the middle of the room supporting a large hewn beam. There was a large pile of bricks in the corner, but otherwise, the room was completely empty.

"I think this will work very nicely," Lily said as she looked around. "We can use the whole room, with these supports as obstacles, or stay to one side of them and have something long and narrow, more like a formal duelling area." She turned to Harry. "Harry, please take those bricks and stack them around the columns. Be sure to use your best sticking charm. I don't want those poles to be taken out and have the house fall on us."

"Yes, Mother." Harry pulled out his wand and got to work. In many ways, this would be similar to their practice area at home.

While he did that, his mother cast protection spells on every surface in the basement, including the ceiling, the floor, and the stairs. When Harry was done, she cast the charm on the brick columns protecting the wooden support poles. The whole place was now a pale blue.

As his mother started conjuring targets on the wall, Harry heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. Turning, he saw his two honorary uncles come down, having returned from work or wherever they had gone for most of the day.

Sirius looked around when he had reached the bottom of the stairs. "The new coat of paint is well done, Lily, but don't you think it's pretty, uh, bland being all the same colour?"

Harry smiled, and he saw Remus fight and fail to hold a grin in at Sirius's misunderstanding.

"You've never seen a room made for duelling before, have you, Padfoot?" Lily said, turning to face him after adding the sixth human-shaped wooden target to the wall.

"No, I guess not. So, is spell work what you wanted a large space for?"

"Pull out your wand, and we'll test my charm work." Lily turned to her son. "Harry? I seem to recall you asking to educate your Uncle Sirius on duelling a few months back. I think you should help him test the protection charms."

A sly grin came to Harry's face as he pulled his wand out of the wand holder on his forearm. "The usual rules, Mother?" he asked with relish, backing to the other side of the room.

"Wait a minute," Sirius said with a little apprehension. "What rules?"

"Nothing more than St Mungo's can fix in a single day, nothing that will bring the house down on top of us, and no Unforgivables." She turned to look at her other friend. "Moony, you're on your own for shielding." He nodded and pulled out his wand.

"Wait, Lily!" Sirius yelled to get her attention. When she looked at him with a "what now" expression, he went on in a more normal voice. "This really isn't fair to Harry. He hasn't finished school, and I have, plus I have nearly twenty years of experience on him."

Lily only shrugged. "Then it will be more realistic. Death Eaters certainly won't care about any of that. On three: one," she did not pause before she started counting, "two, three!"

Harry whispered a Stunner, a ropes spell, and a Banishment spell at Sirius before the man even realised he was in a fight. Only reflexes honed from years of being a broom tester saved him from the first Stunning spell, allowing him to twist just enough for the spell to miss his body. Sirius promptly brought up a standard shield in time for the ropes to hit the shield and fall to the ground. His shield took a beating absorbing the Banishing charm, and he was left with a weak shield and no counter-attack.

Giving his opponent no time to send a spell back, Harry cast a Blasting hex followed by another Stunning spell. The Blasting hex took down the rest of Sirius' shield, and the residual energy washed over him and knocked him off balance enough that he fell backwards to the ground on his arse. The Stunner went harmlessly over his head. When Sirius looked forward, he saw that the ropes he had blocked were now eight black snakes, and they were coming after him.

"Shit!" he cried and Banished the snakes back toward Harry. But the distraction of the snakes worked, and he failed to see yet another Stunning Spell that was already on its way at him. As Sirius fell backwards, Harry stepped to the side and let the snakes sail past and hit the wall behind him. Harry leisurely summoned Sirius's wand and then Vanished the snakes back to the magical energy they had started from.

Harry relaxed his focus and took in the rest of the room. Remus was supporting himself on the stairs, his face red with laughter. His mother, on the other hand, was beaming proudly at him as she struggled with her own mirth. Catching the mischievousness filling the room, he cast a Reviving spell at Sirius.

The man shot up to a sitting position and waved his hand as if he was doing a spell. "_Stupefy!_" Nothing happened, and Sirius stared at his empty hand in confusion. With a howl of laughter, the other three in the room bent over and pointed at Sirius.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he said sarcastically. "Next time, he won't have surprise on his side."

Remus finally got his breath back to get out, "That was brilliant, Padfoot. You really showed the inexperienced kid how to do it." Remus started laughing again and had to sit down on the stairs lest he fall down.

With a smile and the feeling of a successful prank, Harry floated Sirius's wand back to him. "Better luck next time -- old man!" That sent Remus into another fit of laughter.

Lily looked at her two old friends. "Do either of you have anywhere to be tomorrow night?" They both told her no. "Good." She gave them a mysterious smile. "Then after dinner, I think you can help Harry train for real. He needs to learn different styles of fighting, as well as handling two on one."

Remus nodded his understanding. Sirius objected. "That will be really unfair, Lily."

She shrugged. "Life is unfair, and the Death Eaters won't care. Harry needs to learn, and I haven't been able to teach him that. Do your duty and help out, Sirius. Please?"

He finally nodded, too. "I suppose he can't be too prepared."

Zoe heard the tale of Sirius's loss when they returned upstairs, and no one let Sirius forget that Harry had bested him in less than twenty seconds, much to Sirius's shame.

* * *

(Fri, 7 Jun)

The next day, Harry resumed most of his normal training. He set up his exercise equipment in the training room and did an upper body workout before he did Charms and Transfiguration work. Before the morning ended, he also spent time on his Ancient Runes studies. His mother gave him some free time in the afternoon, since she had postponed his fighting work until after dinner.

Sirius came home in the late afternoon because he had worked on a new broom that day. Remus, who had a Muggle job at the docks, came home just before dinner. The job worked well for him as he could take a couple days off a month when his lunar schedule required him to.

After a tasty dinner of chicken and vegetables, Lily convened the evening class in the basement. James wanted to go so badly that Zoe finally relented and went down with him. She made him stay near the top of the stairs and put up a shield in front of both of them.

"So, who gets to hex Harry first?" Sirius asked, with a look of someone seeking revenge on his face.

Remus rolled his eyes at his friend. "What would you like us to do to help, Lily?"

Lily pulled her wand out and put up a weak barrier down the middle of the room. It would not stop anything substantial, but it did serve as a nice reminder of where the middle was. "If everyone will stay over here on this half of the room, I'd like you two to go to the other end of the room and fight Harry, who will be on this end. Same basic rules as yesterday. Don't use anything too serious, and the fight ends when one side is unconscious or disarmed."

"So, Harry has to get both of us while we only have to get him?" Sirius asked to be sure.

"Correct, Padfoot. Is everyone in place?" Lily looked around and got three nods. "Very well, on three. One, two, three!"

Harry immediately cast his best Blasting hex near Sirius's feet while he moved to the right. He had noticed yesterday that the man's shield did not completely reach the ground. He got lucky as Sirius was not ready for that and went flying backwards from the concussion of air. Even Remus was pushed to the side, although he stayed on his feet. Harry took that time to bring up his shield as he prepared to battle Remus.

Remus, however, remembered the previous day and went on the offensive, casting Cutting curses at Harry.

Harry danced around a little, dodging slightly, his shield moving with him and taking very little damage. He risked a quick look at Sirius. He was getting up very slowly, so Harry had a little time to deal with Remus one-on-one.

But Remus did not give him much time, keeping the pressure on him with multiple Cutting curses as well as some rope spells. Harry tried sending a Blasting hex at Remus's shield to take it out. He looked over just in time to see a Bludgeoning hex come from Sirius while the man was still sitting on the floor. Harry had to abandon his weakening shield and dive out of the way. Unfortunately, Remus anticipated his move as he started the dive, and Harry rolled into a Stunning spell and came to a halt on his back. The entire fight had taken less than thirty seconds.

While the two men caught their breath and Sirius stood up, Lily revived her son. James clapped and yelled, "Yay!" It was hard to tell who he was happy for. Perhaps he was just happy to watch the action.

"Not bad for a first time, Harry," his mother tried to encourage him. "What went wrong, and what would you do differently next time?"

Harry slowly stood and stretched as he thought about the fight. "I think I had the right idea by trying to take one of them down quickly so I could then fight one-on-one."

"I agree. You want as few avenues of attack against you as possible. What went wrong then?" she asked.

It was her normal teaching method: do something, make observations, analyse the results, then try to learn to do better next time. In his Muggle secondary school, he had learned it was called the "Scientific Method." His mother had undoubtedly learned it from her Muggle upbringing.

"I think the main problem was I did not completely take Padfoot out at the beginning. So when he came back sooner than I expected, he and Moony were able to work together to defeat me."

Lily nodded. "Very good. Any other observations or ideas?"

"Only that in a real fight, I could have used stronger spells, and I probably would have taken one of them out quickly."

"True, you could have used more damaging spells, but then real Death Eaters would have used more damaging spells, too," Lily pointed out to him. "What about threat and tactical analysis?"

"Based on my experience yesterday, I decided to try to take out Uncle Sirius first." Harry looked down for a few seconds. He appeared a little embarrassed when he looked back up. "I might have underestimated Uncle Remus and their ability to work together."

His mother gave him a grim smile. "I agree, but there's no need to rehash that as we've discussed it in the past. This kind of experience is another reason why I wanted you to fight others. Could transfiguration or conjuring have helped you?"

Harry closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. A soft groan escaped his lips. "I can't believe I forgot to create barriers. I'm sorry. I think I was too excited."

His mother just smiled at him. Harry had learned to do that against her, but somehow he had forgotten here. He would not forget again after this lesson. "Well, now that we have that out of the way, let's trying something else," she said with a smile. "Harry, go stand by the stairs and look at your cousin for a moment. You two," she looked at her old friends, "go stand in that corner and look at the wall for a minute while I arrange the room."

"Lily! I'm not four," Sirius complained.

"Hush and move it, Padfoot, unless you want to feel my Stinging hexes again. I want to surprise everyone equally." Sirius pouted, and Remus chuckled and clapped Sirius on the back as they turned and left for the far corner.

A minute later, Lily raised her voice. "On the count of three, turn around and fight again, same rules. One, two, three!"

Harry turned around and saw a number of walls that went to the ceiling and some boulders that were as tall as he was. He also heard Sirius say, "What the…"

"Ssh!" Remus told him, and then there were no more sounds. Harry grinned as he non-verbally disillusioned himself and put a Silencing charm on his feet. He liked playing "cat-n-mouse" with his mother. It was about the only time they were evenly matched.

With infinite care, he slowly moved around the left side of the room. He non-verbally conjured some light blue sand near the middle of the room from time to time as he crept, trying to get behind his opponents. When he was halfway around the room, he heard a shuffling foot courtesy of his sand. He also heard a whispered expletive, which caused him to smile. Crouching down, he inched around a boulder.

When he saw Moony's foot, Harry non-verbally cast a Featherweight charm on himself. Leaning around the boulder, he silently cast a Stunning spell on a now exposed leg. As soon as he had cast the spell, Harry jumped up onto the top of the boulder.

Most people did not look up in these situations, and apparently, Sirius was normal in this case. Over to the side about four meters away, Harry saw Sirius duck behind a wall as Remus's body hit the ground. To prevent his uncle from being revived, Harry cast a colourless Disillusionment charm on the unconscious man, which caused him to disappear from sight.

Harry stayed absolutely still as he squatted on top of the boulder. Patience was definitely a virtue in this game. A couple of minutes later, Harry saw his other uncle peek out from behind the other end of the wall before his head went back. Harry smiled to himself as he looked at the layout around him.

Silently, Harry conjured a rat, but he made it appear near the wall Sirius was hiding behind. The animal would not do much, but it did move around just enough to make a noise. That caused Sirius to jump out from behind his wall and fire a Stunning spell over the rat. At the same time, Harry fired an Impediment jinx.

As the dark gray spell hit Sirius, Harry launched himself through the air, easily landing next to Sirius due to his reduced weight. He snatched the man's wand from his slowly moving hand. "Do you yield, Uncle Sirius?" The man's head slowly moved up and down. With a grin, Harry cast a "Finite" on the man, on himself, and shot one over near the rock, causing his other uncle to become visible again.

"That was spectacular, Harry!" his mother congratulated him from the stairs where she had watched the action. She started removing the walls and boulders of the maze as little James clapped again.

Sirius revived and helped his friend up before he sheepishly said, "Good job, Harry, very good job. Silent casting as well as being disillusioned definitely gave you the advantage. I really should have thought of it." Remus was just shaking his head, not believing they had been beaten.

Harry smiled but did not boast. "Thanks. It is my favourite game when I train with my mother. There are lots of things you can do, especially if you have a complex environment. This is about as simple as it gets. You should try this in a forest setting."

Remus nodded appreciatively. "Yes, I could see where that could make it more difficult, especially if the area is bigger than this."

"Correct," Lily said as she walked over to the trio. "Perhaps I'll expand this room Saturday and create a forest in here for us to train in. We could try some two-on-two and one-on-three to really give Harry a challenge." Harry's eyes went wide at the thought of competing against his mother **_and_** those other two.

Sirius laughed at Harry's expression. "Don't worry, Little Prongs, we won't hurt you too bad."

Harry whipped his wand back out and pointed it at his uncle. "I'll show you what _Little_ Prongs can do!" He really did not like people treating him like a child. Harry shot a Stinging hex and caught the man on the back of his wand hand.

"Ouch!" Sirius yelped. "Lily, stop him. He's acting just like you used to. Ouch!" Harry hit him again, but on the right shoulder this time. "Lily!" Everyone else laughed at Sirius as he ran around the room trying to escape Harry's hexing. "OK! I'm sorry! You're not little! Please stop!"

Harry dropped his wand to his side. "I'll thank you to remember that, too, Uncle." While he sounded angry, Harry was smiling, enjoying the fun of finally being with his extended family.

"Fine," his godfather told him. "I'll be more serious then."

Remus and Lily groaned before they both pulled out their wands. "You promised us no more Sirius/serious jokes, Padfoot," Moony told him.

"Oh, shit! I didn't mean it, really! Come on, that was years ago. You can't hold me to that now…" Sirius took off for the stairs to escape his friends.

"Sirius, no bad language!" Zoe shouted at him as he ran up the stairs to get away. As he left, everyone laughed at Sirius's antics. The fact that he could get himself in trouble without even trying just made him all the more loveable.

* * *

((A/N: The observant will note that Kreacher is missing from number 12. Feel free to assume he committed suicide and put his head on the wall when his mistress died, before Sirius took over the house. He will not be appearing in this story. Feel free to assume that Sirius and Remus were able to remove the elf heads from the wall and the portrait of Sirius's mother.

I know others have had Alice be Harry's godmother, and I'm doing that here because it makes sense to me that if you have a godfather, you should also have a godmother. Then why wasn't she around in the books? Well, because she was insane in St Mungo's and unavailable to carry out her duties.

Some questions to contemplate: Is Sirius and Remus really that bad compared to Harry? If asked, Harry would say he was fighting while they were duelling? What does that distinction mean?

"_Adhaero" _- to stick

Again, thanks to my helpers (in alpha order): JonathanAvery, moshpit, Reg, Sovran, and SquidTamer.

While not a guess, I can say that the status of ch 3 at this time is that it is about halfway through the beta process and ch 4 is in early beta.  
))


	3. Chapter 3

((A/N: My apologies to everyone for the length of time it took for this chapter to come out.

For those who wish to know, the majority of the problem is that I changed my writing process with this story. The new process, obviously, did not hold for very long before I collapsed under it. Let that be a lesson to all other writers: If you find a process that works well for you, don't change it on a major story. If you want to change your writing process, try on a small to medium sized story to make sure the new process really works for you.

So, the result is that I need to try to change back to my normal process. What that means to you, this story will probably always be slow to update. I'm sorry, but that seems to be the way it's working out. Fortunately, chapter 4 is already on its way, so it shouldn't take as long.

Unfortunately for me, I've had trouble communicating with one of my original betas, but hopefully, the story will stay fairly consistent in quality.

From last time:

1996-02-24: Lily decides Harry is mostly ready to come back. Things in England are getting bad enough it's time for Harry to return.

03-10: Lily tells Sirius, Remus, and Zoe (Sirius's wife) that she wants Harry to return to take his OWLs and then start school next year. Lily has Sirius talk to Dumbledore about conditions for Harry to return.

03-24: Lily finds out that Dumbledore agrees and they make plans.

06-05: Lily and Harry return to England, staying at Sirius's house on Grimmauld Place, where Harry meets his "honorary family". He also meets Alice & Frank Longbottom, finds out that Alice is his godmother, and the group goes to the Ministry and replaces the prophecy orb with a fake one so Voldemort can not get that information.

06-06: They set things up to stay there for the summer, and Harry beats Sirius in a duel.

06-07: Harry duels both Sirius and Remus, winning one and losing one.  
))

* * *

  
**Chapter 3: Prelude to War (Part 2)**

(Sun, Jun 9)

Harry considered his new clothes as he packed the last of them in his new two compartment trunk. The English fashions were a little strange, but not too bad. He would not have chosen them, but his mother had asked him to wear the "local labels" as it were. While they had been careful to bring only their more "western" looking clothes, his mother still thought that was not good enough and had insisted upon new clothes. The rest of the week had been spent taking care of little details along with last minute revising for his OWLs and his regular training.

He enjoyed getting to know his two uncles and Aunt Zoe, but especially his uncles. The two men had jumped at the chance to help him with his fighting skills. Uncle Sirius had been the biggest surprise. After he had become -- well, more serious, Harry thought with a grin -- the man showed a well-above average skill as a dueler. Of course, Harry did not duel; he fought, which gave him an advantage over the man. Remus's actions showed an understanding of the distinction and gave Harry more trouble in practice. Harry had no doubt that Sirius would catch on soon.

Still, having new opponents gave Harry a new appreciation for how important his mother's training had been. Yet, they offered more than that. After each practice session, the two men would regale Harry with stories about his father, at least when his mother was not around. His mother's stories of his father were about the man she loved, and his uncles painted a picture of a very different personality. The mischievous nature and carefree attitude of a school-age James Potter began to take shape beside the roguish Sirius and reserved Remus. They were quite the characters, and Harry was happy to hear stories about his father first-hand.

Closing his trunk, Harry took it down to the living room. His mother was waiting for him with her trunk. His uncles and aunt were gathered behind Lily, talking softly as they waited to send Lily and Harry off. Harry had already given his good-bye to little James, who was now in bed.

Remus stepped forward and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, I've really enjoyed our time together this week. I can tell you've studied hard when we've talked. Stay calm and do your best on the exams. Don't stress out; they aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be."

Lily glared at him. "Remus!"

"Oh hush, Lily. He has studied hard. There's really nothing more he can do now other than taking the exams and showing everyone how brilliant he is." The werewolf squeezed Harry's shoulder and gave him a slightly lopsided smile of encouragement.

"Thank you, Moony."

"Harry, lad," Sirius said, shouldering Remus aside with a playful push. "I know you'll do well, just like your dad did. You go and show 'em how good a Potter is, even if you aren't representing yourself as one."

"Sirius, enough," Lily said. "You know we're trying to hide him as long as possible."

Harry looked away and rolled his eyes. Why did they make this so much more difficult than it really was? He turned to his aunt, hoping for a little bit of sanity.

"Just do your best, Harry, and we'll all be proud of you," Zoe said, and Harry smiled. Aunt Zoe really was the calm in the Marauders' storm.

"Thank you, Aunt Zoe," he said.

"Now, don't forget," his mother reminded him, "everywhere you have to write your name for the tests and to all the teachers, you are Charles Evans." She pulled out her wand. "I can't believe I almost forgot this." She waved her wand and tapped it on his head. "There, you're now a redhead." She applied one other spell, too.

Harry turned and looked in a mirror on the wall, and sure enough, the top of his head and his eyebrows were now a dark red like his mothers'. Looking down, he noticed that even the fine hair on his arms had changed. In addition, all of his facial features looked rounder, including the shape of his head. Although each change was small, all of them together made him look quite different.

"I'll need to reapply that nightly, but that should do it for us," she told him smugly. "Oh, and always, always keep your Occlumency shield up as tightly as possible when in the presence of Albus Dumbledore. Or Severus Snape should you accidentally run into him. Neither one of them will hesitate to use Legilimency on you if they think it will be to their benefit."

"Even the Headmaster? He's supposed to be the good guy."

"He is, most of the time," Lily said. "But he will also bend the rules if he thinks it will serve the greater good. And, like everyone else, he has his own agenda. Never forget that, _Charles_. Everyone has an agenda, and theirs may conflict with ours."

He solemnly nodded and wondered if his mother's agenda conflicted with his, but he purposefully did not pursue that line of thinking at this time.

"Well, we're off," Lily said. "We'll see everyone in a little less than three weeks, and maybe even on the weekend. I'm not sure how the schedule will work out at the moment." The other three adults said their last good-byes.

"Charles, the destination is 'Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office'." She shrunk down both of their trunks, which they then stowed into their pockets. Leading Harry to the fireplace, she grabbed a large pinch of Floo Powder from the canister on the shelf and threw it in, calling out the destination and vanishing into the green flames a second later.

Harry took a deep breath, threw a pinch of Floor Powder and, in a clear voice, called out the same destination. Taking a deep breath to avoid the fine soot in the air, he stepped into the flames and started spinning through the network. He had used the Floo Network only a few times before, and he was not overly fond of it. Many fireplaces later, he was spit out into a large, circular, stone room that was filled with the most eclectic collection of bric-a-brac he had ever seen.

Dozens of portraits hung on the wall, their occupants sleeping, although Harry thought he caught one or two looking at him as he glanced about. Numerous bookcases sat against the walls, and a closed wardrobe was pushed into a back corner. A single, circular staircase twined upwards to a second floor. In the center of the room, near a large ornate desk covered with bizarre instruments, piles of parchment, and several open tomes, an elderly wizard stood waiting patiently, his long white beard falling down to his waistline. His blue eyes were easily visible, despite being behind half moon glasses which were perched precariously on a slightly crooked nose.

His rich purple robes were trimmed with silver and embroidered with stars and moons that shimmered in the candlelight. Although Harry had seen pictures of Albus Dumbledore, seeing him for the first time was not unsettling, but, perhaps, informative. This was a powerful and knowledgeable man.

"Lily!" the Headmaster said, opening his arms wide. Harry turned to see his mother walk over and give Dumbledore a quick loose hug, as he had seen her do before to people whom she had to hug but did not really want to. She beckoned him over.

"Albus, I'd like you to meet my son, Charles Evans."

Harry took the few steps over and held out his hand to the Headmaster. Dumbledore took his hand and firmly shook it.

"Mr Evans. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I'm very happy to meet you -- very happy indeed."

"Headmaster," Harry intoned and nodded politely as he shook hands. Letting go, he turned towards his mother, who had sat on the couch furthest from the desk. He mentally smirked at that. It was so like her to try to control the situation. He noticed the sparkle in the old wizard's eyes, or maybe twinkle was the better word, as Dumbledore watched Lily sit away from his desk.

Taking a closer look at the room as he walked, a metal stand with a beautiful bird on it captured Harry's attention. The bird was the size of a goose and had brilliant gold and red feathers and black eyes. "A phoenix!" Harry exclaimed as he took the few steps to the bird's stand and held out his hand. The phoenix titled its head and then blinked and bumped Harry's hand. He gently stroked the bird on the side of the head, and it responded with a short trill. For a moment all the tension drained away from Harry and he felt as if everything were right in the world. A smile graced his lips as the phoenix rubbed his head against Harry's finger.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "Congratulations, Mr Evans. Fawkes likes you -- most unusual. He is usually quite reserved."

After a few more strokes of the soft feathers, Harry spoke to the bird in a soft croon, "You're a special one, and I hope I get to see you again." The bird gave one another short trill, which Harry took for agreement. With a smile, he turned and quickly walked over to sit next his mother.

Harry watched the old wizard fiddle with his tea set as he sat in a big leather chair. The Headmaster served the three of them.

"Lily, after I got over my shock -- and the certainty that young Sirius was trying to play a particularly cruel joke on me -- I was very glad to hear that you and young, uh, Mr Evans were still alive. But Sirius would not tell me why you waited so long to announce your good fortune or to return to England." He sat calmly, the perfect example of a grandfather figure, but Harry was not fooled. The question was quite pointed.

He watched his mother take a sip of her tea, quietly evaluating the situation he was sure. "You know as well as I do that Voldemort did not completely die _that_ night. It was obvious from the Prophecy. Charles's safety was paramount, and I did the only thing I could."

For a minute, the Headmaster stared at her while he sipped his tea. "Lily, you had friends here. We would have helped you."

"I'm sorry, Albus, but in the crisis of the moment, I wasn't quite sure who was a friend and who wasn't. Surely you can see that. Look what happened with Frank and Alice. If they hadn't been out of the house that night, not even a month after we were attacked, well, who's to say how bad it might have been for them."

Dumbledore reached down and casually picked up a ginger biscuit. "Actually, that's a very good example. When Death Eaters came for them, we in the Order rallied around them and captured the four attackers. We would have done the same for you."

"You're purposefully overlooking my point, Albus. Death Eaters came for them even though Voldemort was bereft of a body. It was not safe here, even a month later. I was not going to take any more chances with Charles. We had already been attacked, and James had been killed!

"Look at what happened with Neville Longbottom at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. Did you keep him safe then? Did _you_ train him to deal with situations such as that?" When the Headmaster did not immediately respond, she waved it away with a gesture. "Besides, it's all water under the bridge, and no one can change what I've done."

The old wizard put his half eaten biscuit on his plate and took a sip of tea. This was like a chess match to Harry, each player carefully evaluating the other and making very calculated moves. What was unclear was whether Dumbledore was trying to make an impression on his mother, on Harry himself, or to simply make a statement -- or, perhaps, all three. Or maybe, Harry thought, taking a sip of his tea, the Headmaster was only interested in the few fragments of information each question uncovered.

"As you say, we cannot change the past. However, Charles has finally returned to England. Charles? Are you ready to take your OWLs?"

"Yes, sir." The fewer words the better, Harry thought, at least until he understood more about the Headmaster personally. As his mother had often warned him, others' eyes and observations are useful, but only his own were to be trusted.

"And which subjects would you like to be examined in?" The Headmaster's bright blue eyes held Harry's gaze, but, surprisingly, he felt no mental probe. That was odd, especially after all the repeated warnings he had received. But then, the Headmaster did have a full school year ahead of him to make his move.

"All of them, sir."

The Headmaster sat ever-so-slightly more upright. "All twelve?"

"Yes, sir. I've been instructed in all the subjects here, plus some others you do not teach." He was not sure why the Headmaster was so surprised; he knew what Harry had to do. Or at least Harry thought the Headmaster would know.

"Well, I expect it shall be most enlightening to see how well you perform." Dumbledore finished off his biscuit.

"I can only do my best, sir. The only question I have is what I'll be able to learn here in my last two years that I don't already know." Harry knew that sounded boastful, but it was his sole burning question aside from how to kill Tom Riddle. Although he trusted his mother's judgment, he could not remove the niggling doubt in his mind that Hogwarts would be a waste of time.

Lily nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, Albus, let's discuss the exams and his classes before we start everything tomorrow. There will be no problems with Charles using his alias to take the exams, correct?"

The Headmaster nodded. "Professor Marchbanks understands that there are special circumstances involved, and as a favor to me, she is allowing Mr Evans to use an alias as well as to sit the examinations privately during the evening."

"Thank you," Lily said with a slight nod.

"I believe that will protect Mr Evans's identity until late August. At that time, I will have to give his name to the Board of Governors to admit him since he is, in essence, a transfer student," Albus said.

"But…" Lily's brow furrowed in confusion. "But Charles should have had an invitation to Hogwarts. He only delayed his entry."

"And if Charles wanted to start in his first year here, it would be as you thought. However, he is potentially starting in his sixth year, thus he must be treated as a transfer student. Oh, speaking of which…" The Headmaster pulled out his wand and silently summoned a booklet from his desk, which he handed to the young man. "The Hogwarts' Handbook for Students. You'll be expected to follow the rules therein."

Harry accepted the small book and slipped it into a pocket. "Of course, Headmaster."

His mother, still frowning, continued on. "And the rest? The private training room, the tutoring, and his need to leave school twice a week?"

"I will set aside an unused classroom near his dorm for his use. As long as Mr Evans does not abuse the privilege, it is his to use. His leaving is a bit more problematic, but if he comes to my office or to Professor McGonagall's, he can use the Floo to travel to your house. He must be back for curfew at ten, however. I can't make too much of an exception for him."

Lily nodded. "That's sounds acceptable. And the tutoring in the three subjects?"

"Do you really believe it is required, Lily? The NEWT level classes can be quite difficult," Dumbledore said.

"I have been through them, Albus, and I know Charles's abilities. He will be quite bored in the NEWT level Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions classes. And because he needs to fulfill the prophecy, he needs extra one-on-one work in the first three."

The Headmaster leaned back and crossed his legs under his robes as he thought about it. Harry wondered what the old wizard was contemplating, but his face was inscrutable.

"Have you lined up the Defense Professor for the coming year yet? I understand that Frank Longbottom is not completely sure he will return." Lily looked at him and waited.

If Dumbledore was surprised at her knowledge, he did not show it, Harry thought. In all, Dumbledore appeared to be granting the concessions requested, but always with a small catch or modification. He answered part of a question while switching the focus before answering everything completely. Harry was finding his mother's caution to be well founded.

"No, I've yet to begin to look for one, since Frank is still here and he told me that he intends to return." Dumbledore weathered Lily's demanding glare better than most, but it was apparent that even he was not totally immune to it. "Very well, Lily. I shall get Frank, or whomever the Defense teacher is, Minerva, and Filius to tutor Mr Evans in advanced topics once a week."

"Thank you, Albus. However," the old man frowned slightly at the last word, "I'd also like you to commit to tutoring Charles in Defense if the Defense teacher is, in _our_ opinions, not competent." As the Headmaster started to answer, Lily hurried on. "And before you say otherwise, I know that two of your last five Defense teachers have not been competent and that another one was a Death Eater. Or I could say that two have disappeared before the end of the year, and you had that Ministry floozy who tortured students. Although I heard that the Death Eater who masqueraded as Mad-Eye was reasonably competent."

A forced smile snuck its way through the long beard. "You are well informed, Lily. Very well, if the Defense teacher is not competent to teach Mr Evans to fight Death Eaters, I'll take up that tutoring position. In exchange, I must ask that both you and Mr Evans agree to keep these arrangements to yourself as much as is possible."

He looked to Harry. "Mr Evans, I know that eventually some of this will be found out, for people do tend to notice things here. However, please do your utmost to hide this for as long as possible. I know that your father had a very nice cloak to hide things. I would appreciate your discretion for these extra-curricular activities."

"Yes, sir. I understand," Harry said, although he did not need the reminder. His mother had been very clear about secrecy.

"In addition to your OWLs, Mr Evans, I must also request an hour of your time before you leave. You see, I have noticed there tends to be a deplorable lack of understanding in our world about -- well, the other world. Alas, the Board of Governors forced me to change my plans slightly, but as of this year, you must take a small entrance test to determine if you shall be required to take extra classes before you finish your studies here."

"What sort of test, Albus?" Lily asked.

"Oh, dear me, I did leave out the subject, please forgive me. The first is nothing more than twenty-five questions about the Muggle world and how it works. I wanted to attempt to remove some biases, and I judged that it would be easiest to start with the children."

Lily relaxed. "That will be no problem for Charles."

"I assume you've been living in the Muggle world, then?" Lily nodded. "Then I also believe he will not have a problem. There is a companion test for the Wizarding world. The Board decided in fairness that those not growing up in our world must take a 'Wizarding Studies' class if they cannot pass the test. While I had not planned on that, I do not disagree with the idea."

"I don't believe Charles will have any problem with that, either. I've done my best to educate him on how the Wizarding world works, along with many of its traditions -- as poor as many of them are," she stated a little forcefully, trying to make her opinion obvious.

Albus smiled and went on as if he had not heard Lily. "Perhaps an hour next weekend would do?" he asked Harry.

Harry glanced at his mother, who nodded. "That would be fine, Professor."

"Very good then. Is there anything else before I show you to your rooms?" Harry recognized the polite request to end the conversation, but his mother jumped on the offer.

"Yes, actually, I do have a few more things, Albus." His easy smile tightened and then fell at Lily's question. "Besides us, who else knows about the Prophecy?"

The old wizard's smile became a little more genuine, and Harry frowned. He had been worried about something else being asked, Harry realized. "As you probably remember, Frank and Alice Longbottom were also told. I'm unaware of anyone else."

"Charles knows the full prophecy," Lily said, "and I wouldn't be surprised if Frank has told Neville."

Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up. "Are you sure that was wise, Lily? Someone may be able to force it from Mr Evans, and that would be most unfortunate for all of us."

Harry wondered idly when he would have been told the Prophecy if it had been left up to the Headmaster. Did Dumbledore think him of him as a child?

"Since Charles is the one who will have to remove Voldemort from this plane of existence, I felt it was required for him to know," Lily argued. "But don't worry, he knows Occlumency and can keep his secrets."

"Really?" Dumbledore looked surprised and doubtful. "I hope that's sufficient to the task. What other questions did you have?"

"If we can track down Voldemort, do you really know how to kill him, or will we just suffer another return later?" Lily looked and sounded deadly serious as she asked, "Do you know how to kill him for good?"

Dumbledore sighed. "You ask a most difficult question. Did he boast or say anything to you the night you were attacked? Anything about what he had done to stay alive?"

"No."

"That will make things more difficult," Dumbledore said tightly, obviously disappointed at not getting more information.

Albus paused, and Harry wondered if they were going to get anything more out of him on this subject, but then the Headmaster continued.

"One of the things I've been doing for the past year is attempting to track down Tom's history, searching for clues as to why he did not die that fateful night."

"We have done the same as best we could. I've always assumed it was some form of Necromancy, as I heard he found that branch of magic interesting, as evidenced by his love of making Inferi," Lily said quietly. No matter how much time had passed or would pass, discussing that night brought painful memories out of their dark corners. "The splitting of his soul and tying part of it to another human so as to _share_ the damage would be the most obvious thing to do, but the material I read only gave the theory and said it would be very difficult to do."

"That would be one way, but there are other options." The Headmaster leaned forward in his chair and observed Harry and Lily. Harry waited for the Headmaster to continue, but he remained silent.

"Albus," his mother said forcefully, "you must share what you know with those who are involved or all will be lost should something happen to you."

"Now Lily," Dumbledore started to chide her.

"Albus, I'm very serious. You are being arrogant if you think you have all the knowledge needed to solve this problem. Other people may be able to help create the winning strategy," Lily argued.

Dumbledore gazed at her intently as he considered her argument. As she said nothing else, Harry assumed it was merely a gaze and not a Legilimency attack, as he had been warned about. If it was a Legilimency attack, he was sure his mother would have said something.

"Very well, Lily," he finally told her. "I can't prove my suspicions, so we must be ready to change our thinking should other evidence come along. I believe Tom took a different path to immortality than your theory. One piece of evidence I recently uncovered came from one of your old teachers, Professor Slughorn."

"Really?"

Albus nodded with a faint smile. "As he was one of Tom's closest teachers, almost a mentor, he seemed like a good candidate for information. I will confess that I had to do something that was beneath me, but after I got him quite drunk with my best liquor, I was able to get a memory from him in which young Tom asked about making Horcruxes."

Lily's eyes bulged as the information slowly sank in. "Horcruxes? As in plural?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said very calmly, considering the subject. "A seven part split, to be exact." He paused and looked to Harry. "Perhaps I should explain what a Horcrux is, Mr Evans."

"No need, Professor," Harry told him with confidence. "They are an inanimate container to hold part of a person's soul after it is split, usually as a side effect from a murder. The idea is that if even part of your soul is anchored to something here on earth, then the rest cannot leave either. Of course, the part which was anchored to the body that was killed may have a hard time surviving and will need help to get a new body, but the part of the soul, and its main consciousness, would be able to persist."

The old wizard raised an eyebrow. "An excellent summary, Mr Evans. Can I assume that you've read _The Hidden Dark Arts_ by Shulorn? Your description sounds very similar to the one found there."

"Yes, sir, I've read the entire book," Harry confirmed. "It was a difficult book to find, but my mother tracked a copy down a few years ago when we started our own research on Riddle."

Dumbledore grimaced slightly, and Harry assumed the old man did not like the fact that he had access to such an explicit book on the Dark Arts.

"While that is the standard definition, I have my reservations about it."

"Oh?" Lily sat up a little straighter, her attention riveted on the old man.

"Yes. My quibble is with the description of the container. I do not believe it must be inanimate. For example, I believe that his snake, Nagini, has lived somewhat longer than it should have and seems to be a little too intelligent."

Lily said nothing and then arched an eyebrow at Harry. Harry mentally sighed. She meant for him to continue the argument. Turning to face Dumbledore, he said, "I can not agree, Headmaster. If a living body were to be used as the container, that would be a disastrous choice, as the body replenishes itself over time. As the cells of the body die off, there would be nothing to hold the entrapped soul, so it would eventually -- evaporate -- for lack of a better word. The horcrux cannot be transferred to the new cells of the body without another attachment spell."

"Well argued, Mr Evans. But not all parts of the body renew themselves. While it is very hard to locate, I do see a _mark_ on your forehead. What is under the skin there, Mr Evans?" The Headmaster's eyes seemed to twinkle more as he made his argument.

"Besides a thin layer of muscle, are you referring to the bone of my skull? While that is long-lived, even bone is still alive, especially the center part. Bone is also easily removed. In addition, you would have the problem of two souls in one body. That should not be possible in humans, except for very short durations. I know philosophers and biologists heavily debate this, but many believe animals to have simple souls -- it's what separates them from plants. If you believe this snake to be a Horcrux, I believe it would be safer to say that a very small object was made into a Horcrux and then forced down the Snake's throat so the object is carried with it. Or if the object was small enough, I suppose it could be embedded under the snake's skin so it could not be expelled from the body." Harry was curious what the Headmaster's reply would be. This was a topic he and his mother had debated in great detail a few years ago when they were doing their own research on Voldemort or Tom Riddle.

Dumbledore held up his hand. "We shall have to track down the snake and then see what we find. It will not fully answer the 'inanimate' portion of our discussion, but it will give us better insight." Harry nodded, acknowledging the Headmaster's point.

"What do you believe about me, Professor? Do you believe I'm a Horcrux? Because by your definition I could be, given the circumstances." Harry was really curious to see what the old man said, as Dumbledore certainly did not have all the facts.

After several long seconds, Dumbledore finally said, "It is an interesting question."

Harry's mother made a noise that almost sounded like a snort. "Really, Albus. Don't beat around the bush! Answer him." Then she gave the Headmaster a cunning smile. "You might even learn something."

Dumbledore allowed one eyebrow to rise. "If you insist, Lily." Turning to face Harry, he said, "One question first, if I may. Have you exhibited proficiency in any non-mainstream branches of magic -- any at all?"

"You will keep this knowledge to yourself?" Lily asked him pointedly.

"I will."

Harry looked at his mother and saw a brief nod. "I am a Parseltongue," Harry said unemotionally.

"Really?" Dumbledore drawled slightly. "Then I would believe there is a very good possibility that you are an unintentional Horcrux."

It was all Harry could do not to laugh at the statement. "Why, Headmaster?"

The Headmaster shifted slightly in his seat, as if uncomfortable. "That ability is very strong in the Slytherin family line, which Tom Riddle is a decendant of, and I am not aware of it being strong in any other family. So you must have received that from him. Also, I assume you will tell me that Voldemort did not have time to cast the attachment spell to make the Horcrux the night he gave you the scar, and therefore you are not a Horcrux."

"Yes, sir."

"Nevertheless, his soul had already been split due to the killing of your father, and it had not had time to reattach itself. Since you have that mark, I must assume he made some sort of magical connection with you such that when he died, the soul fragment would have followed that connection and embedded itself in you, also transferring his Parseltongue ability. As you can see, I disagree with you about the possibility of having two souls in a single body, especially when the second one is merely a fragment and is well contained in a magical pocket of some sort."

"Very interesting, Headmaster, but wouldn't I have had to be nearby when that happened?"

"Yes, Mr Evans. Theory holds that the recipient of a Horcrux ritual needs to be within about ten feet. Since you were in the same room, I believe that suffices."

Now Harry did smile. "Except that I wasn't there, sir. My mother has told me that she saw the Killing Curse bounce off of me and rebound towards Voldemort as she Portkeyed out with me, so neither of us was there when the spell actually hit him. Therefore, there was no live container for the fragment to embed itself in, as you put it. The fragment should have, ah, dissipated."

Dumbledore shifted in his seat again as he considered the new information. Harry waited to see what he had to say, as did his mother based on her expression.

"That's very interesting, Mr Evans. Very interesting indeed." The old wizard now smiled. "Yes, well argued, and that makes me feel much better about a few things. That is all assuming Voldemort used Horcruxes, which I have not been able to prove yet. I only know that he had an interest in them." He went silent again, obviously considering various ideas.

Lily lightly cleared her throat, slightly startling Dumbledore, who nodded at her to continue. "But it sounds as if you believe he split his soul so that he has six Horcruxes, plus one last part of his soul in his new body? Do you know what any of these Horcruxes are, or where they might be located?"

The old wizard pursed his lips together, obviously thinking very carefully.

"Albus!" she raised her voice severely. "I can tell you know, and as I said before, you need to share all of this information with myself and Charles. Keeping information this important from the people it affects most will only hurt them."

"Oh? And what have I withheld from you that needed to know?" Dumbledore asked. "I told you about the possibility of Horcruxes, the prophecy, and helped teach you the Fidelius charm to hide with years ago. What more could I have possibly told you?"

Harry thought his mother now looked like a cat that had finally cornered an elusive rat. "You know very well, Albus, that I asked you for the identity of anyone else who had heard the prophecy. Who was the one who took it to Voldemort? Who was the source of that leak?"

Harry watched as Dumbledore's eyes widened for just a brief second. This was the question the great wizard had not wanted to be asked. Harry leaned forward ever so slightly and listened and watched, hoping to gain some clue. He knew that Dumbledore would somehow obfuscate his answer.

Dumbledore smoothed out his robes and sank deeper into his leather chair before folding his hands in front of him and staring at Lily Potter. "Lily, as I told you then, that person's identity had to remain hidden to do us the most good. Telling you that identity would have done nothing except fuel your desire for revenge, and that would have been very dangerous for you. I had to protect both you and your husband."

"Then tell me now," she demanded. "Fifteen years have passed. I think I deserve to know who was an accomplice to the murder of my husband."

The Headmaster looked at her for a long moment. "I'm sorry, Lily. I truly am. But I can't do that, and I can say nothing more about it. Shall I show you to your quarters?"

Harry saw that his mother was plainly upset as she glared at the leader of the 'light side' before quickly standing to leave. He stood with his mother and finished looking around as they made their way towards the door, following Dumbledore.

They went down a curved stairway and past a gargoyle that moved back in front of the stairs when they were clear. The Headmaster turned right and led them through the halls. To Harry, the castle felt old, very old. The stonework was ancient, and there was a buzz of magic in the air. Portraits and paintings covered the walls, and the occupants smiled, waved, or gossiped as the strange group passed. It was very fascinating and a bit daunting. He would need a decent amount of time to learn the castle's secrets, and that made him wistful for the map of Hogwarts his uncles had told him about. Unfortunately, the caretaker had confiscated it decades ago. Harry idly wondered if the Map was still in the caretaker's office and if he could find it without being caught.

A few minutes later and down one floor, Dumbledore stopped at a door. "Lost wizard," he said, and Lily raised an eyebrow as the door opened. He smiled at them and walked in. "This is your room while you're here. There is a ward to keep the students out of this wing, but since Mr Evans is not an enrolled student, it will not affect him. I would advise you to stay out of sight if you want to keep your presence secret for as long as possible. The password for the room next door is 'OWL examinations'. A proctor will arrive every evening at half-past six to give the next examination. I believe the one tomorrow is for Charms."

"Albus, how do we get food?" Lily asked in an obviously controlled tone, her anger from a few minutes before now mostly suppressed.

"Oh yes," he smiled at her. "A house-elf will bring your meals to this room. If you'd like to leave on the weekend so you're not stuck in the room the entire time, you'll need to come to my office to use my Floo. I'll arrange an extra password there for you. Say 'Lily is back' and you can go up."

"Thank you, Headmaster. I appreciate your helping out in this way," she told him sincerely.

"You're welcome, Lily. And it has been good to see you again. Mr Evans, the same goes for you. Good-night." With the quick good-bye, the old man left.

After a check to make sure there were no portraits in the room, Lily cast a silencing spell on the door before she spoke in Japanese. "Well, Harry? What do you think?"

"I see what you mean, Mother. He's very smart but a bit eccentric," Harry responded in the same language.

She chuckled. "Yes, he is. Deep down, he's a good man, but his goals are not our goals, so be cautious of him, Harry."

"I will, Mum."

"So what are your observations, dear?" She seemed curious, and he suspected that she wanted to know if her conclusions matched his.

"You were right, he does seem to run a very defensive war. It's almost like he thinks everything will come to him, and he'll take care of it then."

"That's not a bad way to put it. What are your other observations and conclusions?"

"I was surprised that he was doing more than we thought he was, even though it's still not very aggressive. He's trying to educate the Purebloods about Muggles through his entrance exams and then mandatory Muggle Studies classes, and that's not what I expected."

She nodded. "I agree, that is nice to see, although it will take decades to bear fruit. Sadly, it may not be as effective as you think it will be, because I know who the Muggle Studies teacher is, and she's a Pureblood. So the young Purebloods will learn a little more about the Muggle world, but it will still be distorted and inadequate."

"How unfortunate," he said with a glum expression, but then he perked up as he remembered something else. "I was happy to hear that he's done research on why Voldemort did not die and gone further than we managed. With his research, we should have a better chance to determine what we may have to do to end the war."

"True," his mother agreed. "He's in a better position to find that out being in-country, and I'm glad he has. However, don't get lax on your research. Assuming he's correct about Horcruxes being the mechanism that Riddle used to stay alive, finding all the Horcruxes and destroying them will be incredibly difficult. I've never read anything about how to destroy one, and it's obvious that they will each be guarded with severe curses. I can only hope he did not take one of them and surround it with multiple layers of different protective materials and drop it in the middle of the ocean somewhere."

Harry shuddered. "We can only hope they are in places he has a connection to so we can find them. Again, assuming Horcruxes are the answer."

"You'll note he did not answer my question on whether he knows where any might be, right? We have to have better luck at finding them than I've had in finding out who took the prophecy to Voldemort. I can't _believe_ he still won't tell me," Lily said.

"Mother?" Harry asked, waiting for her to look back at him after her outburst. "He might have a good reason." His mother looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "Operational security. One of your favorite topics? I know it's only a guess, but it may mean that person is still alive and doing something for the Headmaster."

Lily looked taken aback at the new thought. She leaned against the wall to think. "The list of people alive then and now who are involved is not very long, but I can't yet think of a way to reduce it. We'll both have to stay alert for more clues. Pay attention to who was active with Albus's plans then and now."

Harry nodded. "I got the impression that the Headmaster was not happy that I knew the entire prophecy."

"He wasn't," she confirmed.

"Other than what he told us, do you know why?" he asked.

"No, Harry. It's quite possible he gave us a complete answer, but then again, maybe not. He does like to dole out information slowly and only as he sees fit."

Harry snorted. "I agree with what you told him." His mother smiled at him. "That also makes me wonder when he would have told me if you hadn't. I mean, if something had happened to you, so you weren't there to raise me, and it would have been left to him to train me, when would he have told me about the prophecy? When would he have started to train me?" He considered what little he had heard that the Headmaster had done for Neville Longbottom, and Harry was glad he had his mother and her ideas.

His mother looked at him for a moment before she walked over and drew her son into a hug. "I don't know," she softly told him as she rubbed his back for a moment. "But don't you worry about it. I'll be here for you. You can depend on me. We'll get through this together."

Harry hugged her back tightly. "Thanks, Mother!" he told her in a fierce whisper.

With a last squeeze, she let him go. "Well, these rooms look the same, so you take the bedroom through that door, and I'll take this one. Good-night, son. I love you." She squeezed his shoulder and sent him on his way.

"I love you too," he told her with a smile. Going into his room, he found a bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, and a small private bathroom. All in all, Harry thought, it appeared to be a fairly comfortable place. However, he felt he would probably take the Headmaster up on his offer to leave on the weekend, if he could get his mother to agree. Even a room this nice would get really boring soon, particularly if he only had two rooms to go to.

He enlarged his trunk, quickly unpacked a few clothes, and got ready for bed. Slipping beneath the covers, he found the bed was quite comfortable. If the dorm beds were like this, it might be very nice here. As he went to sleep, he wondered what the other students were like. In the end, they would be what determined whether he was happy to be here or not.

* * *

(Mon, 10 Jun)

The next morning, Harry woke early, as was his habit. After he dressed, he went out into the main room. It was empty, which meant that his mother was either not up yet or was out. Either way, he was alone. The mischievous side of him that he rarely let out could not ignore this opportunity. Going back into his room, he pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk and put it on. Although his mother had given it to him for safety, over the last week his Uncle Sirius had often remarked on its usefulness for "other, more fun things."

As quietly as he could, he left the room and started walking around the castle. Given its size, and therefore the potential to get lost, he was careful to go slow and to make sure he always knew how to get back to his room. At the moment, the going was not too hard as the halls were deserted, so he did not have to hide to avoid getting trampled. He supposed that it being twenty before seven contributed to that.

He had made his way to the main foyer and was about to look into the Great Hall when he heard someone coming. Stepping to the side, next to a suit of armor decorating the area, he watched a slender girl with long red hair and pale skin with a few light freckles come walking into the foyer, humming to herself Based on her size, he guessed she was a year or maybe two years younger than he was.

When she reached the steps going down into what Harry thought was the dungeon, her casual demeanor disappeared and she glanced furtively about the hallway for several moments before relaxing. Apparently satisfied with her privacy, she pulled a phial out of her robes and sprinkled its contents all over the top several steps. She then Vanished the phial and walked towards the Great Hall.

Just outside of the entrance, she waved her wand at the doorway and muttered a spell. Although he could not hear her, he recognized the wand movements as some sort of environmental charm. Applied to the doorway like that, he knew people would feel something only for the brief moment when they walked through the doorway. She then proceeded to walk into the Great Hall.

Intrigued, Harry walked over toward the steps and carefully looked from a short distance away. If he had not seen her sprinkle the fine powder, he probably never would have noticed it. Turning, he walked into the Great Hall. A very faint warmth, like a warm breeze, briefly enveloped him as he passed through the doorway. He was impressed; if he had not seen her cast the spell, he doubted that he would have noticed, or he might have thought the feeling was his imagination.

Harry saw the girl sitting at the table to the far left under the red and gold banner, but what really grabbed his attention was the ceiling. It showed the bright morning sky in all of its glory. Not only was it magnificent to look at, much better than the book described, but Harry knew it was also a phenomenal piece of magic. He doubted his mother could recreate that, and he knew that she was exceptional at Charms. Rowena Ravenclaw had been truly inspired when she had done that work.

Standing to the side of the doors, Harry continued to look around, wondering about the girl's actions as he watched other students trickle in. He did not have to wait long to have his curiosity satisfied.

A pair of young girls, in their second or third year he would guess, walked into the Great Hall. As they passed through the door, flames engulfed their robes as if they had been doused in lamp oil and set alight. But Harry, standing only a few feet away, could feel no heat, so he did not think they were in any real danger.

The girls' eyes widened and then filled with terror. Like discordant banshees, they screeched in terror and began furiously beating at their robes. All heads jerked in their direction, and Harry grinned under the Invisibility Cloak as he watched them dance and flail around as they vainly sought to extinguish the flames. In their panic, neither girl noticed that the flames produced no smoke and that they were not getting burned. It was all an illusion, and an impressive one, Harry thought.

Three boys, all maybe a year older than the girls, came through the doorway and rushed to help their fellow students. As soon as they passed the threshold, their robes went up in flames, too. Panicking, they tore their robes off and tried to stomp the flames out, leaving one of them standing in only his pyjamas and trainers. Engrossed in their efforts, they were deaf to all the laughter coming from the fifty or so students who were at the tables. There were only a couple of teachers at the head table, and they sat immobile, agog at the sight.

Harry watched as several more students came in and passed the door with their robes intact. Then a few more after that, whose robes also sprouted flames. He finally realized that the 'burning' robes all had a green and silver patch on the breast bearing a snake in the shape of an "S".

By this time, the flames from the first victims had vanished, leaving their robes quite intact. Other than some damaged egos and pride, there were no injuries. Which, as far as Harry was concerned, was what made the prank quite funny. Interestingly, the redheaded girl who had done it had contained herself and not acted any differently than anyone else he had seen. Obviously, she was not new to this sort of thing.

As the excitement died down and people stopped streaming into the Great Hall, Harry decided he had better return to his quarters. A last look showed some of the older Slytherin students now sitting at their table and serving themselves breakfast while the illusion of flames leapt up their backs. With a smile, Harry turned and left. Careful to avoid running into any stragglers to the morning meal, he safely made it back to the sixth floor.

Walking into his suite of rooms caused a small problem. His mother was sitting and watching the door while she ate breakfast. Realizing he had few choices, as she would have already checked his bedroom and had surely seen the door open, he closed the door behind himself and pulled the cloak off.

"Did you have a nice jaunt this morning, Charles?" she asked in a pleasant tone.

He knew he was in for it now. It was always worse when she was calm at the beginning. To make it even worse, she was emphasizing his need to be hidden with his alias. He looked down at his feet. "I just wanted to explore the castle a little while there were few people about."

"You know you're supposed to stay in our quarters. Being seen at this time could be very dangerous for you -- for both of us. We're not ready for that yet."

"I'm sorry, Mother." He still had not looked up. He did not want to see her disappointment.

She sighed. "Come, sit down and eat, Charles."

He finally looked up and saw a sort of resigned look on her face. He took the other chair at the small table and started dishing food onto his plate.

After a couple of minutes of silence, his mother started talking to him again. "I understand your curiosity. Hogwarts is a very interesting place, and I doubt any of the students would recognize you. But -- some of the teachers might, and one in particular would be disastrous."

"Snape?" he ventured as he was between bites.

"Yes. Dumbledore says he's trustworthy, but Sirius and Remus still aren't sure, and neither am I. So no unnecessary risks for the next two and a half weeks while we're here. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mother," he dutifully agreed. He did not like displeasing her.

She gave him a smile in acknowledgement of his apology and promise. "When you return in September, you'll have plenty of time for exploring -- although you'll need to be very careful when you do that. There are plenty of places for someone to hide and attack you when you aren't looking."

"I'll be careful, I promise."

Her smile grew a little bigger and her expression softened. "I know you will. I know I'm biased, but you are very good because you've paid attention to your training. In any fight that's even close to fair, I have every confidence that you'll win." Harry smiled back at her, his pride swelling in her praise. "Now, finish up there and we can go next door to look at your testing room and then do a little last minute revising for your Charms OWL tonight."

Harry nodded and went back to work on his mostly empty plate. He had no worries about doing well on his Charms OWL, but he wanted one last chance to improve his speed on a few charms.

---

At half six, Harry was sitting in the testing room waiting. His three-hour written exam and one hour practical would be starting as soon as the proctor showed up. He had barely finished that thought when the door opened to admit two old wizards and the oldest witch he had ever seen.

"Mr Charles Evans?"

"Yes, ma'am." He hoped his disguise held. His mother had warned him to be cautious, as these three testers had tested both his mother and his father.

"I'm Professor Griselda Marchbanks," she pointed to the right, "this is Professor Tiberius Ogden," then she pointed to the left, "and this is Professor Thaddeus Tofty. One or more of us will be giving you one OWL examination each weekday evening."

Harry nodded.

"I understand you want to take each of the twelve OWLS? That is a difficult and arduous task, young man." She fixed him with a pointed stare as she waited for his answer.

"Yes, ma'am. I have prepared for all twelve."

With a look that communicated that she thought his plan unwise, she turned to her left. "Professor Tofty? I believe tonight's examination is your responsibility, although I believe I will stay and observe, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all, Professor Marchbanks," the balding man with a squeaky voice replied. He pulled out his wand and a small box. With a wave but no incantation, he enlarged the box and set it on the table. Opening it, he pulled out a quill, a bottle of ink, and what looked to be a scroll that was at least three feet long. All were pushed in front of Harry.

Professors Marchbanks and Ogden stepped to the side of the room and sat down. The witch pulled out her wand and cast a privacy charm around them, which Harry assumed allowed them to hear what was happening in the room yet allowed them to talk without disrupting the test.

Lastly, Professor Tofty pulled an hourglass out of the box. "You have three hours to complete as much of the examination as you can. Should you finish ahead of time, I advise you to review your answers in the additional time, although you can hand it in early if you so wish." Turning the hourglass over, he calmly stated, "You may now begin."

Harry unrolled the test, grabbed the quill, dipped it into the ink, and started answering the first question. He tried to make his handwriting as neat as possible, but the time limit caused him to hurry and his letters scrawled more than he liked.

At the two-hour mark, he ended the answer to the last question with a flourish. He was quite happy with his answers to the eighty questions which filled the four feet of parchment. Sitting up straight and stretching, he saw the three professors appraising him. He assumed they were wondering if he was really finished or not. Deciding he had the time, as the hourglass was only about two-thirds empty, he took the next half hour to skim back over his answers. He did not change anything.

Laying his quill down, he rolled the parchment back up and held it out. "Professor Tofty, I have finished. May I take a short break before the practical?"

The balding wizard took the rolled parchment from him and put it back into the box. "Certainly, Mr Evans. As you can see, there are refreshments over on the other table, and a lavatory is through that door."

Harry did not bother to see where he was pointing, as he already knew the water closet was there. He stood and stretched before he headed over to get a glass of pumpkin juice. It was acceptable, but he could not figure out why everyone liked it so much, including his mother. It was what they got used to as children, he supposed. Harry much preferred apple juice.

While Harry sipped his juice, Professor Tofty pulled a number of items out of the box: an egg, a stick, a small doll, several rocks, some parchment, and a few other things. When the man had finished, he walked over to the other two professors and conferred with them behind the privacy screen. Harry wondered what they were discussing.

Draining his juice, he set the glass down and went to the loo. He knew he would not have another chance until after the practical was done.

Coming back out, he walked over to the table where he had taken his test and waited. A moment later, Professor Tofty joined him along with Professor Ogden.

"May I examine your wand please, Mr Evans?" Professor Tofty held out his hand as he patiently waited.

Harry handed his wand over and watched the man cast a spell on it, presumably to check for cheating of some sort. He cast another spell and a smoky image of a snake appeared above the wand for a few seconds before it disappeared.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Part of a basilisk for a core?"

"Yes, sir, an optic nerve of one actually." It was a moderately rare core, but not unheard of, or so he had been told.

Professor Tofty handed Harry his wand back. "Very well, Mr Evans. I have fifty tasks for you to perform. You are not allowed to take longer than one minute for any task. To speed this up a bit, Professor Ogden will be recording the results."

Harry nodded as he watched Professor Ogden pull out a watch. "I'm ready whenever you are, sir."

"Very well, Mr Evans." Professor Tofty picked up the egg and set it before Harry. "Please turn the egg shell blue with medium sized golden polka-dots."

"No specific size, just not one or two large ones, and not covered with real tiny ones?" Harry asked.

"That's right, Mr Evans. A general, medium size, say six to ten dots all over the egg."

Harry concentrated and then cast the color changing charm for blue, then a modified color changing charm which produced eight golden spots about half an inch in diameter all over the egg. Looking up at the professor, he saw a smile.

"Excellent, Mr Evans, and it took you a little less than ten seconds as well." Professor Tofty said. He slipped a small piece of parchment under the egg. "Now, please use a Severing Charm to slice this egg in half, and yes, it is hard-boiled, but do not cut the paper under it."

An interesting test for control, Harry thought. Taking a few seconds to concentrate, he cast the Severing charm on the middle of the egg.

Tofty picked up the two halves and looked inside. "The egg white is still white and not blue or gold, very good." He Vanished the egg parts. He then picked up the parchment and held it up between himself and Professor Ogden. It was easy to see that there was no cut or tear in the parchment. "Good control of your power." The parchment was set down and a one-foot stick was placed in from of Harry. "Mr Evans, please enlarge this stick to exactly twice its present length, which would make it two feet long."

Carefully visualizing the end result, Harry successfully enlarged the stick to the correct length. The next forty-seven tasks passed with successful results. Both men looked quite pleased. A glance at Professor Marchbanks showed her to have a very interested expression as she watched him.

"Congratulations, Mr Evans. You've finished the practical portion in slightly under half an hour. I'm not sure if that is a record or not, but I would say that it is a most _outstanding_ display of Charms." Professor Tofty said, obviously very impressed.

"Thank you, Professor." Harry smiled and inclined his head politely. His mother had told him that good impressions were always useful.

Professor Tofty pulled out a cup and turned it over. Four small objects spilled onto the table. With a wave of his wand, the objects expanded back to their normal size. The smallest of them was about the size of a liter bottle. The next was about four times that size, so Harry assumed the first was a quart container and the second a gallon container. The third one was a large container that could probably hold five gallons, and the largest was a barrel.

"Mr Evans, this is for your permanent conjuration test," Professor Tofty started explaining. "Please fill each container with water in a single spell, conjuring the entire volume of water at the same time. After you have done each of them, I will seal them and we will see which ones still have water in them at the end of your OWLs. That will give us, and yourself, an understanding of how much you can permanently conjure."

"This is to help me know how much I can conjure and have it stay there and not hurt myself?"

"Yes, Mr Evans. As you know, not all conjured items are permanent, and everyone has their size restriction. As you should have been told in your class, it would be very … disastrous, shall we say, for you to conjure water, drink it, have your body use it, and then have it disappear later. Weaker wizards who over-extended themselves have been killed in this way."

"Yes, sir, we did cover that in class." Harry turned, and for each of the five containers, starting with the cup-sized one, he conjured the appropriate sized column of water in the containers. He stopped a little short of the top each time so that nothing would spill out.

"Very good, Mr Evans." Professor Tofty pulled out five lids and some yellow tape that looked like very wide Spell-O-Tape. After placing the correct lid on each container, he placed tape around the lid and then touched his wand to it. The tape shrunk and stuck tightly.

Harry could tell the seal was not coming off easily. He assumed it was to prevent tampering.

The proctor put his magical tape away. "As a bonus, Mr Evans, is there anything else you would like to show us for the practical?" A look of expectation graced the proctor's face.

"Any charm I want?" Harry queried.

"Any charm that won't hurt anyone here," Professor Tofty confirmed patiently.

Lifting his wand to hold it in front of him and concentrating, after a second, he conjured a miniature Quidditch stadium on the tabletop. It was about a meter in length with hoops at each end and stands on both sides.

Professor Tofty nodded. "Very nice! It seems very lifelike. Not as well done as an architectural model or anything, but still very accurate."

"If I may, Professor, this is just a prop to show you want I really wanted to do."

"Then by all means, please continue," the older man told him. The other two testers got up from their seats and came over to see better.

Harry quickly conjured fourteen tiny figurines on brooms. "There, that's the last of the prop. Now here's what I wanted to show you." Again, he paused and closed his eyes, carefully visualizing what he wanted to do. Without opening his eyes, he started casting the Animation charm, directing it around the small group of "toy players". As he finished the spell, he looked and was pleased to see that all the players were flying around the model stadium playing a mock game of Quidditch. They were not flying in rigid formations like the Muggle Air Force, but flew independently as if they were real players.

"Merlin's Beard!" Professor Tofty whispered intensely. Professor Ogden stared with an opened mouth. Professor Marchbanks just stared at him wide-eyed.

It was all Harry could do not to laugh and to keep his large grin down to something that might be called merely a small smile. He did not want to look too arrogant. He let the spell go for almost a minute before he canceled it, lest it start to repeat itself and seem less impressive. It had taken several months for him to learn to do that much.

Professor Tofty finally pulled himself together and cleared his throat, which seemed to release the other two from their amazement. "Thank you for that most interesting demonstration, Mr Evans. Professor Marchbanks will give you your Transfiguration OWL exam tomorrow evening, if you would like to know what you should study for."

"Thank you, Professor. I'll see you tomorrow evening at the same time." Without a word, he Vanished his model stadium, gave a nod as a small bow to the three adults, and left the testing room to return to his living quarters in the next suite.

Harry had barely finished closing the door behind him when he heard, "How do you think you did?"

He grinned at his mother, who was sitting in a chair near the fireplace. "Quite well, I suppose. Professor Tofty seemed to be very impressed with my practical work. I also found the written portion to be relatively easy."

"Very good." She smiled at him. "Don't stay up too late tonight. You'll need your rest. Relax for a few minutes before you turn in, and study for your next one tomorrow. You might also consider lifting the weights you brought with you."

"Yes, Mother," he dutifully answered her. As was his usual practice, he walked over and leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, which she returned.

"Good-night, Harry. Sleep well, my son," she whispered.

Harry's smile returned at her look of love. "Good-night, Mother. Sleep well, too." He turned and went to his room.

He considered pulling one of his manga out for some light reading, but instead he settled on pulling out _Hogwarts: A History_. He wanted to look up a few things about the castle.

---

Professors Tofty, Ogden, and Marchbanks watched the young man walk out of the room.

"Did you see that?! Each player moved independently, and they did not do the same thing over and over. And he did it in his fifth year!" Professor Ogden was beside himself in amazement.

"Simply magnificent!" Professor Tofty agreed. "That was certainly Outstanding work and worthy of several bonus points. I hope he did as well on the written portion." The man's respect for the student was obvious.

"Yes, he's a very gifted young man," Griselda Marchbanks thoughtfully agreed. He also reminded her of someone else, although she was having a difficult time coming up with the name, since she had seen so many students in her long lifetime.

As a young witch, she had tested Albus Dumbledore, who had been as gifted in Transfiguration. The next very gifted student she had tested had come nearly a century later -- one Tom Riddle, she finally remembered. She shuddered as she thought of him. Now, a third extremely gifted student in her lifetime? She wondered how would he affect things.

Marchbanks also wondered why Albus had made this arrangement. Oh, his request to test a transfer student who wanted to make sure he was capable without drawing attention to himself was reasonable enough, she supposed. But that coupled with his request to change the name on the test at the beginning of the school year, indicating that "Charles Evans" was an alias, made her wonder all the more what was going on. Nevertheless, she had promised the student anonymity at least until mid-August and had not mentioned anything to her two helpers.

Coming out of her thoughts, she looked at the two men who were still going on about the model Quidditch game, which she had to agree was spectacular. "Gentlemen? Shall we retire for the evening? Tomorrow will also be a long day."

The next evening, Griselda Marchbanks was again amazed, as were her two companions. They had not wanted to miss the show, even though they had not needed to be present. While this Mr Evans was not quite up to Dumbledore's, or even Minerva McGonagall's, prowess in Transfiguration when they were fifteen, this young man was still quite exceptional in Transfiguration, too.

The successive evenings were filled with Astronomy, followed by Divination. Friday evening would bring his Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Professor Marchbanks was looking forward to that. Her gut feeling was that it would be very interesting to watch.

* * *

(Tue, 25 Jun)

When Harry returned to his room after his History of Magic OWL, his mother was in her usual chair staring into the flames of the small fire. Both of their trunks were standing in the middle of the room.

She looked up as he pushed the door closed behind him. "Did it go well?" she asked in Japanese, preferring it within their room. When Harry had asked why, she had told him she thought it was safer as she doubted anyone else in the castle spoke the language.

He smiled. "It was very easy." Even though that had been his standard answer for all twelve tests, it was the truth. Better still, she believed him.

"I'm very proud of you." He felt himself standing a fraction taller with his chest puffing out a little. He enjoyed hearing that from her. "Are you tired?"

"No, Mother. I won't be tired for several hours yet since we've been getting up later while we've been here. Are we going to go on the outing you mentioned?" He had gotten up even later this morning as his mother had been hinting at a little trip after he finished his last OWL.

"I believe we will." She gracefully rose, pulled out her wand, and shrunk their two trunks.

Harry bent down and picked them up, handing hers to her, while putting his trunk in his pocket.

"Thank you. It's time for us to return to the Headmaster's office. I believe you should wear your cloak."

Knowing the comment was not merely a suggestion, Harry reached into his robes and pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of an inside pocket. With a flourish, he wrapped it around himself.

"Very good, let's go." She led him out of the room, carefully surveying each hallway before they started walking down it. At one corner, they heard voices, so they flattened themselves against the wall. Harry was invisible, and his mother Disillusioned herself before standing very still. A pair of students walked by, and Harry reasoned that they were probably Prefects on patrol.

They did not encounter anyone else on their way to the Headmaster's office. His mother gave the password and they went up. Harry pulled the cloak off and put it away as Lily knocked on the door. A call of "Enter" beckoned them in.

The Headmaster greeted them. "Ah, Lily, it's good to see you again. Mr Evans, how were your examinations? Oh, where are my manners, sherbert lemon, anyone?" He held out his bowl of sweets.

"No thank you, Albus," Lily said. Harry shook his head as well. "Charles believes he did quite well on them."

"Excellent, I'm glad to hear that," Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. "I had an interesting conversation with Griselda on Sunday, and she indicated that Mr Evans was acquitting himself admirably in the practicals."

"Of course, he's my son," Lily said.

The man's beard twitched slightly, Harry assumed with amusement. "I have also graded Mr Evans's entrance tests on the Muggle and the Wizarding worlds and he has passed them both, so no extra classes are required for you, Mr Evans."

"Thank you, sir. That's a relief. Of course, they were quite easy. However, questions like 'Name two forms of transportation that Muggles use that Wizards do not,' may help to make sure the students understand the names of Muggle objects, but it does not help in understanding how Muggles think, which I believe to be more important."

The Headmaster nodded. "Well said, Mr Evans. Unfortunately, these questions are what we were given. Hopefully we can add the more -- pertinent questions -- over time." The twinkle in his eyes was most pronounced. That subject done, the Headmaster turned to his mother. "If you would do me one favor before you leave?"

"If I can," she acknowledged.

"It would be nice to see exactly who will be joining us this fall." At her look of confusion, he added, "He still has his glamour on."

"Oh." Pulling out her wand, Lily touched it to the top of his head, doing a soundless 'Finite'. Looking down, Harry saw the hair on the back of his hands change from red to black. He assumed the rest of his hair and his facial features had changed as well.

"Ah, yes. A spitting image of young James, with your eyes, Lily." He looked lost in a memory for a couple of seconds before he continued. "Well Mr Evans, I shall see you on the first of September. The Hogwarts Express leaves from Platform 9 ¾ at eleven in the morning. I have no doubt your mother can get you there."

"I do remember," Lily dryly commented.

"Your OWL results along with your course selection list for your sixth year should arrive by the first of August. Please return that as soon as you can. A book list will also be included. I believe I already have all of your other information from your enrollment form. I hope you've enjoyed your stay here, Mr Evans."

"Yes, sir. I look forward to coming back in the fall." And he did, honestly, want to come back. Training with his mother had been very useful, but he also craved getting to know other wizards and witches his own age. He did like Suki back home, but as the only other magical person his age, he had felt very limited in his ability to share the magical world.

"Splendid, Mr Evans, very splendid. I shall see you at the Welcoming Feast, then. Have a good summer, both of you," Dumbledore told them.

"Thank you, sir," Harry gave a slight bow.

"Yes, thank you for your help, Albus. Come, Charles. It's time to go." His mother led him over to the fireplace. After reapplying his glamours, she grabbed a large pinch of Floo Powder from the dish on the mantel. She tossed it in and said, "The Leaky Cauldron" just as she disappeared in the green flames. Harry followed her.

There were still a few patrons present at the Leaky Cauldron, but not many. Harry had barely stepped out of the fireplace in the famous pub, when his mother caught his arm, turned him towards the door to the street and they took their robes off as they walked, revealing their Muggle clothes. They draped their robes over an arm, much like one did an overcoat.

"The stores I want in Diagon Alley are probably closed by now, so we'll have to go to the Muggle equivalent. Besides, it will be far safer out here," she told him as they walked out the door and onto the sidewalk. Outside in the Muggle world, she led him down the street for a few blocks. There, she turned into a small ice cream shop.

"Congratulations on finishing your tests. I know we rarely get to go out and I also know how much you like ice cream, so pick out whatever you'd like. Afterward, we can visit a large bookstore I know that's near here and you can pick something out there as well," she told him with a smile. With an even bigger smile, Harry chose a traditional fudge sundae.

Half an hour later, they walked down the street to the bookstore, where Harry found a book on military history and combat tactics.

Their little time of fun over, they walked back outside and into an alleyway. There, his mother grabbed his arm and Apparated them to their summer home, number twelve Grimmauld Place. The rest of the summer would be dedicated to training.

* * *

(Sat, 6 Jul)

Harry and his mother Apparated to an alley she had scouted out earlier in the week. Before Harry had left Japan, O-Sensei had given him an address in London. They had both applied their Japanese glamours, returning to their far eastern disguises. Lily felt this was very important as O-Sensei might have mailed a letter of introduction and possibly a photo.

They walked around to the front of the row of shops and saw a simple sign that advertised Karate classes hanging over one of the doorways. There was nothing to make it stand out, but then Harry assumed that was done on purpose. A master of this sort did not need to advertise. His reputation was all that was needed. Most likely, the master sent most applicants home. Harry had an advantage, however, as he was a former student of O-Sensei.

Walking inside, they saw a room decorated like O-Sensei's dojo, so Harry immediately felt at home and bowed. There was a class in session at the moment, so the Potters respectfully knelt on the floor and watched. Harry noted that everyone in the class was Asian, and he was thankful for his mother's insistence on their old disguises. No one approached them, but the master had seen them, Harry was sure of that. They patiently waited, understanding that custom demanded this.

Harry studied the class. It was much like his lessons back home -- yet another source of comfort. The master was a man in his upper forties and in excellent condition based on his looks. He mostly walked around the class and made the occasional quiet comment to students as they warmed up under the eye of an older student. O-Sensei had said this man was one of his better students.

After nearly half an hour, the master walked over to them as an older student continued to lead the class in katas. The Potters both got to their feet and gave a small bow. The master returned it. In Japanese, he told them, "I am sorry, but my classes are full. If you would like to leave your name and a phone number, I will let you know when I have an opening."

Harry bowed again. "Sensei, O-Sensei sends his greetings to you." The man in front of him looked startled for a brief second. That reaction was a good sign and emboldened Harry. Reaching into his workout gi, he retrieved a letter that he handed over. The man took it and read it. While Harry knew what it contained -- O-Sensei said he would write him a letter of recommendation -- he was glad he had it now.

When the man finished reading the letter, he smiled. "How is O-Sensei?"

"He is doing well, although he does complain about 'his old bones'," Harry said.

Sensei smiled. "O-Sensei suggests putting you in my advanced class. Do you agree with his assessment of your skills?"

"O-Sensei is wise, but if I am to learn with you, I submit myself to your decision." Harry bowed at the end of his statement to show his submission.

The man gave the slightest of smiles. "Well spoken. Since you are dressed for it, join the class. I will assess you and decide at the end."

Harry dropped his bag on the floor and kicked off his shoes. He then took a couple of minutes to stretch and prepare himself. He bowed to the Sensei again before he walked onto the floor mat to join the class. The older student, who was about nineteen or twenty, briefly scowled at him, but he continued leading the class. As Harry picked a spot in the back and was about to join in doing the current kata, he glanced over and saw Sensei quietly talking to his mother. Taking a deep breath, he began the simple kata, using to the flowing movements to finish stretching.

By the time the katas were done, he was fully stretched and he had begun hearing his old master's voice instead of the assistant's. Sensei came over and started pairing up students to practice with each other. Harry had no problems with this and held his own against his assigned partner.

Near the end of the class time, Sensei stopped class and had everyone get into a large circle. He pointed to Harry and waved him in, and to another student about Harry's age. Harry had done this before. It was like a practice exam. He and the other student approached each other and bowed to the Sensei and to each other before they got into their stances. Sensei shouted "Hajime!" and Harry wasted no time. He stepped forward, faked a punch and snap kicked instead. It hit the other boy who had fallen for the fake. Harry did not pause and kept throwing techniques. Two hits later, the boy was on the ground. "Yame!" Harry stepped back and waited. The other boy was motioned out and a new one was motioned in.

Harry went through three more opponents, winning them all, but also collecting an injury on the left side of his face that was going to hurt and probably bruise later, not to mention the punishment his arms had taken blocking attacks. He was once again grateful for magical healing.

Finally, the oldest boy, the assistant, was motioned in. Harry took a deep breath to clear his thinking, but he stayed focused and showed no emotion -- no fear. He would do what he had to do. "Hajime!"

The two stared at each other for a second, evaluating each other and fighting in their own mind, much like ancient samurai. Seeing himself as victorious, Harry launched himself at his opponent.

This fight went longer than the other four combined. Several times the older boy almost had him, but Harry managed to move back and get an extra second to recover. The boy was relentless, but then that was how Harry thought of himself. After tightening his stomach and stepping into a kick to get closer, Harry grabbed the assistant's foot and twisted hard. The boy had over extended himself and had no leverage, so he fell. Harry moved as fast as he could, forcing the boy to fall when gravity did not act fast enough. The boy slammed into the mat. Harry pressed his knee into the small of the assistant's back as he cocked his left arm with the knife edge of his hand poised to strike the head or the neck.

"Yame! Matte."

Harry relaxed at the commands from the Sensei and stood, waiting for the boy. He slowly got up and faced Harry with a new respect in his eyes, and something else. Letting his burgeoning Legilimency skills flare for a moment on this Muggle, Harry felt a fierce determination to beat him the next time. Harry smiled slightly and bowed to his opponent and then to the teacher, as did the other boy.

"Class dismissed," the Sensei called. All of the students bowed to the Sensei as they left the mat. Some immediately walked out the front door while others walked into a back room. The master walked over to Harry.

"Sato-san, you did very well. Some of the moves you made were not Karate. Why?"

"Sensei," Harry said, hiding his apprehension. Some masters refused to teach those who studied other arts, but he needed to be truthful. "I desired to expand my view of the world. In addition to O-Sensei's teaching, I have also studied some Aikido."

"You should continue that if you can." Harry relaxed and smiled in his relief as the Sensei continued. "I have done the same and found it most helpful." Sensei looked at him for a moment, as if he was measuring him. "Have you studied any weapons?"

"A few. I prefer the staff or bo, as that form can be found in many places and can be used wherever you find them."

The master smiled. "Very practical. Any bladed weapons?"

"I have had an introduction only to knives."

The Sensei nodded, apparently neutral about knives. "Sato-san, get two staves from the wall." Harry watched Sensei start stretching before he turned around to get the weapons. He knew he was in for it now, but he had no choice.

After picking up two hardened bamboo staves, each a little shorter than himself, he saw his mother still watching him. She had a smile on her face, which he took as encouragement. A few of the students -- not the oldest one, Harry was relieved to see -- were standing at the side watching. They were about to get a show. He gave one of the staves to the master. They both used the bamboo to stretch in slightly different ways before bowing to one another. "Hajime," the master said softly.

The next five minutes were some of the most frustrating in Harry's life. It seemed like no matter what Harry did, he was blocked. When he had tried almost everything he knew, the master's staff started moving differently. Harry's emotional mask cracked as he realized the master had been playing a defensive role, and that he was now about to go on the offense.

Harry blocked as many strikes as he could, but just as many penetrated his defense, leaving him with even more sore spots that would turn into bruises. Once he got lucky and hit the master on the left shoulder, but he knew it was truly luck. Then again, his opponent was the master for a reason. The third time Harry was knocked back on his arse, the master softly said, "Yame." Harry stood and the master bowed, as did Harry.

"O-Sensei has taught you well." He handed the bamboo to Harry. "Return these and pick up a set of bo sticks for each of us."

Harry put the staves up and picked up four sticks about a half meter long each. He handed two to the teacher. Again they battled, and again the teacher was easily the better, although Harry felt he had fought a little better than with the staff.

"Return these and join me," Sensei said.

Harry walked over to put the bo sticks away, trying to stretch his overworked muscles. He had not had a workout like this since he left Japan nearly a month ago. The katas and the little sparring he did with his mother were not enough to keep him on edge. Turning around, he saw the master further down the wall. Harry hurried over.

"You have done well -- my student." He smiled at Harry, which caused Harry to smile as well. "I will see you Tuesday evenings at six-thirty and Saturdays at three." He bowed, so Harry bowed back to him.

"Thank you, Sensei. I am honored to receive your teaching." Harry bowed again as the teacher nodded and left for his office.

Letting his arms hang at his side, he returned to his mother. "You did it, didn't you?" she asked him excitedly. The smile on his face had probably given him away.

"I did," he told her with a sense of accomplishment. She hugged him tightly and all he could do was stand there with his arms still at his side and grunt. "Ow, be careful, Mum. I've got multiple bruises that need help."

She quickly let him go. "Sorry dear, the only red spot I see is the one on your jaw. Let's go home and I'll heal them and give you some bruise paste for the deeper ones, too. I probably shouldn't completely heal the one on your jaw, so they don't wonder about you." They walked out and back to the alley where they were alone. Removing their glamours, they Apparated home. An hour later, after a shower and some medical treatment, Harry felt almost normal except for his shoulders and a little soreness on his left jaw. He was going to have to add more exercises for his upper body.

* * *

((A/N: Harry is only barely an advanced student in his new karate class, or so it appears to those not trained under his original master. In Japan, he was merely an average student. In the Wizarding World, he will appear to be a master as magical people don't do this kind of physical activity (not even the Aurors), or really very little physical activity at all. He will not be some sort of "uber-Ninja", sorry to those who want that. :-) OTOH, skills are relative, so in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

A question for thought: What does the above mean when Harry goes to Hogwarts? Feel free to assume the characters there are close to canon.

Again, thanks to my helpers (in alpha order): JonathanAvery, moshpit, Reg, and Sovran.  
))


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